STUDIES : :-D OBSERV^IONS '| 

IN THE 

1 SGHOOItROOM ! 



KRATZ 




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STUDIES AND 

OBSERVATIONS IN THE 

SCHOOL-ROOM 



BY 

HENRY ELTON KRATZ, Ph.D. 

SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, CALUMET, MICH. 
PRESIDENT OF CHILD STUDY DEPARTMENT, N. E. A., 1902 



EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY 

BOSTON 

Nkw York Chicago San Francisco 






LIBRARY of CONGRESS 

Two GoDles Received 

FEB 11 190F 

-. Copyrig-h1: Entry ^ 
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Copyrighted 

By educational PUBLISHING COMPANY 

1907 



INTRODUCTION 

Doubtless, parents and teachers have studied children from 
the time of the earliest homes and schools, and certainly chil- 
dren have studied parents and teachers (perhaps more effec- 
tively) for as long. It is only within the last quarter of a 
century, however, that teachers have attempted to study chil- 
dren in a systematic way. The enthusiasm with which such 
study was carried on in this country a dozen years ago, caused 
the movement to be called "another educational fad" to which 
Americans are supposed to be peculiarly subject. To many 
teachers it was that and nothing more, but to others have come 
visions of the depth of educational wisdom to be reached 
from knowing the little child, his heart, his mind, his soul, 
"all in all" wherein is mirrored so clearly "what God and man 
is." 

To-day there is much less popular talk about the study of 
children, but much more actual study of them. The froth 
and foam have disappeared, but interest in children has be- 
come an essential part of all streams of thought connected 
in any way with the origin and development of man. Evolu- 
tionary theory which has so completely modified scientific, 
philosophical and even theological thought in the last half 
century, culminates and finds its highest application in the 
development of children, and the individual needs of children 
are being considered by teachers more than at an\- time since 
the adoption of the graded system, 

3 



4 INTRODUCTION 

Children may be profitably studied individually by teachers, 
as a means of knowing how best to deal with each one, or in 
groups, as a means of knowing what is best to emphasize in 
class work and school management. Teachers are also in a 
position to collect data from which scientific investigators 
may derive the general truths of psychology, child study, and 
education. Practically no grade teachers and few superin- 
tendents have the time or training that would permit them 
to do the work of a specialist in building up a science of child 
study. To expect it of them would be more absurd than 
to expect them to make original contributions to the science 
of chemistry, for the phenomena of child life are far more 
complex than are those of atoms and molecules. Yet ob- 
serving persons who are interested in nature, are often able 
to report facts regarding the distribution of plants and the 
habits of animals that are valuable to the biologist and, in a 
similar way, teachers who are in constant association with 
children and systematically and intelligently interested in 
them, can furnish the specialist with numberless facts that are 
not accessible to him. 

Superintendents may ask teachers to co-operate in such 
collection of data, either with or without the assistance of 
specialists, as a means of arousing a more intelligent interest 
in children and of leading teachers to teach children rather 
than subjects. Such studies carefulh- made and tabulated 
give teachers and superintendent a more definite and pre- 
cise knowledge of the local conditions that are afi'ecting the 
development of the children, which the school should either 
supplement or counteract. Just as an examination often 
reveals to teachers and superintendents the strength and 
weakness of the work being done, more perfectly than do the 
daih' recitations, so do child study tests and questionnaires, 



INTRODUCTION 5 

when carefully tabulated, reveal conditions and influences 
hitherto unsuspected. 

The author of this book, Superintendent Kratz, early realized 
the true value of child study and few, if any, of our superin- 
tendents have maintained the same consistent, intelligent 
interest during and since the time when the first popular 
wave of enthusiasm passed over our country. His "Studies 
and Observations in the School-room," delightfully written 
as it is, will be of popular interest, and especially valuable 
and suggestive to teachers and superintendents. Studies 
similar to those described in Chapters I, II, III, IV, VI, VII, 
and XII should be made in every city, in order that teachers 
and superintendents may intelligently adapt the work of the 
school to local conditions and individual needs, while Chap- 
ters V, VIII, and IX present truths that are of universal inter- 
est and application. Other chapters, such as X, XIII, XV, 
and XVII, give interesting glimpses of the observations and 
experiences of a superintendent of schools. 

The book is not an addition to the many weighty volumes 
on pedagogy over which teachers are poring, but a very pleasant 
stimulating, nutritive refreshment to be taken, a chapter at 
a time, digested and applied. 

E. A. KiRKPATRICK 

Fitchburg, Mass. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Chapter 



Introduction by Dr. E. A. Kirkpatrick . . 3 

I Explanatory 9 

II Study of Pupils' Preferences . . . • ^5 

III Children's Knowledge When Entering School 30 

IV Primary Pupils' Ideas of Conduct and Punish- 

ment 38 

V Characteristics of the Best Teacher as Recog- 
nized by Children 48 

VI Money Sense in Children . . . . 61 
VII Children's Reading . . ' . . . -75 
VIII How May Fatigue in the School-Room be Re- 
duced to the Minimum ? . . . . 89 
IX A Study in Musical Interpretation . . -105 
X Alertness . . . . . . . 115 

XI A Study in Spelling 127 

XII Questions of Grammar-Grade Pupils . . 141 

XIII The Spirit of Criticism . . . . . 158 

XIV Outline of a Manual Training Course . . 172 
XV The Building of Character .... 181 

XVI A Study in Study . . .... 193 

XVII A Leaf from a Superintendent's Diary . . 206 



STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS IN THE 
SCHOOL-ROOM 



CHAPTER I 

EXPLANATORY 

In presenting "Studies and Observations in the School- 
Room" to the teachers of the country, the author does 
not presume that it will meet "a long-felt want," but he 
does hope that it will be of some assistance to that con- 
stantly increasing class of teachers who are earnestly striv- 
ing to increase the efficiency of their work, and render it 
more practical, by a careful study and more thorough 
acquaintance with the inclinations, interests and needs 
of their pupils. 

Study of Inclinations and Interests 

The pedagogical literature of the past has dwelt too 
much upon the realization of an ideal system of educa- 
tion, conceived from the adult point of view, largely 
theoretical in character, and ignoring the inchnations 
and interests of the children. In fact, at times, it took 
on the extreme form that the more the system of educa- 
tion ran counter to the inclinations of the children, the 
better it was calculated to develop and discipline them, 
and to build up strong character. 

y 



lo STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

Wc know now that the growth is through self-activity, 
and the more interesting and enjoyable that activity, 
provided it be in the right channels, the more rapid the 
growth. The successful twentieth century teacher must 
therefore carefully study the inclinations, interests, dis- 
likes, prejudices, in fact, every phase of the emotional 
life of her pupils, so that, like the skillful mariner, she 
may be able to take advantage of every favoring breeze 
to reach the desired port. 

The careful study of the emotional life of each of her 
pupils is also demanded from the standpoint of character 
building. Out of the emotions come the currents which 
shape character. The successful teacher must be quick to 
discover in what direction these are flowing, and keep the 
wholesome life currents open. To do this, requires the 
most careful study of each pupil as an individual. 

The author hopes that the presentation of these studies 
may lead a larger number of teachers to see what a simple 
and yet interesting matter it is, to make such investiga- 
tions, and thus be induced to enter upon some line of 
investigation of their own pupils. He feels confident that 
it will make their teaching more practical, sympathetic, 
and effective, if such a course be pursued. 

Individual Study of Pupils 

Another purpose sought, is to interest the teachers in 
the study of their pupils as individuals. Teachers have 
been inclined to overlook the individual pupil in instruct- 
ing the large classes which economy seemed to demand. 
Class instruction has failed to produce its best results, 
because it labored under the delusion that there was an 
a\-crage pupil through whom the work that the class 



IX THE SCHOOL-ROOM n 

should do could be accurately measured and adapted. 
The problem then was to learn the capacity of that sup- 
posed average child, and cram that amount of pabulum 
down the mental oesophagus of each child, nolens volens, 
without any special regard to his individual powers of 
assimilation. 

It is now recognized that instruction must be adapted, 
as far as possible, to the peculiar needs of each pupil. 
This necessitates a careful study on the part of the teacher 
of the chief characteristics of each pupil as an individual, 
so that instruction may be adapted, not to a fictitious 
average pupil, but as far as possible, to the peculiar 
mental attitude and needs of each pupil. 

About ten years ago the author, convinced of the help- 
fulness of a study of each pupil's characteristics, and of 
the desirability of its being pursued in a systematic man- 
ner, devised the blank, which he called "Record of Pupil's 
Chief Characteristics." (See next page.) 

Results 

The results of such study were highly satisfactory. 
First, and of foremost importance, the teachers were 
deeply interested in the study of the chief characteristics 
of their pupils and such comments as these were made: 
"It's hard work. I have my pupils in my thought as 
never before. I am studying them and their individual 
peculiarities, and gaining an insight into them, which I 
know must prove highly helpful to me." "Although it 
is hard work, yet I know it is doing me a world of good." 
"It makes my teaching so much more interesting, and 
gives greater dcfiniteness to . it. I am gaining a clearer 
insight into child nature." 



RECOKD OF PUPIL'S CHIEF CHARACTERISTICS 

Pupil's Name : 

Date Age — Nationality 



Health 

Temperament (nervous, 
equable, sluggish, etc.) 

Grade 

If Behind Grade, Why? 

General Ability (excellent, 
medium, poor) 

Sight (good or defective) 

Hearing (good or defective) 

Observation (excellent, 
medium, poor) 

Memory — Verbal (ex- 
cellent, medium, poor) 

M-emory — Thought (ex- 
cellent, medium, poor) 

Imagination (vivid, me- 
dium, weak) 

Thought (strong, medium, 
weak) 

Feeling Through Which 
to Govern 

Self Control (excellent, 
medium, weak) 

Sense of Right (excellent, 
medium, weak) 

Use of Language (excellent 
medium, poor) 

Subject of Deepest Interest 

Chief Characteristic (timid, 
rash, etc.) 

Greatest Deficiency 



190 



First 
Month 



Fifth 
Month 



Ninth 
Month 



190 

First Fifth" ( Ninth 
Month Month Month 



Fill out the blanks at the top of sheet during the first two weeks; the remaining blanks 
at the close of the first month, or as soon as the characteristics called for can be learned. 
Where words are enclosed in parentheses as " excellent," " medium," " poor," etc., E., M., 
P., can be used in the blanks. 

Add to the record any changes which may be noticed under any of the characteristics 
called for. If none can be noticed, then draw a line in the space. 

The principal object sought is to lead teacbt'rs lo "tudy each pupil as an individual, note 
his characteristics and thus be able to plan for and attain definite results, and to secure 
the proper development of the individual pupil. 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 13 

Second, There was a more intelligent appreciation on 
the part of teachers of the real needs and the defects of 
then- pupils, and as a natural consequence, a greater 
definiteness of aim in their work. 

Third, There were found a few children who were 
regarded as lacking in capacity and hopelessly dull, to 
be simply dull in hearing. These, when reheved of par- 
tial deafness, soon manifested c[uickened mental life. 
There were those also who made slow progress because 
of defective eyesight, who were greatly aided in their 
studies by the use of glasses. 

Fourth, Teachers were able to seat pupils to a better 
advantage, placing pupils with defective senses in front 
seats. 

Fifth, The teachers were made aware of physical and 
mental defects and weaknesses of - pupils, and as the 
record kept these definitely before them, they were better 
able to train wisely for symmetrical development. 

Sixth, The teachers were brought into closer and more 
companionable relations with their pupils in general, and 
developed greater intelligence and sympathy in dealing 
with the so-called bad boys and girls. 

Seventh, The records disclosed to the superintendent, 
at least in part, how carefully his teachers studied their 
pupils, the measurements they applied, what motives they 
appealed to, what feelings they sought to arouse, what 
relations, sympathetic or otherwise, they were cultivating 
with their pupils. 

Candor compels the admission that not every teacher 
in the corps was thus profited, but the important fact 
still remains that nearly all were deeply interested, and 
their work was grreatlv advanced in efficiencv. 



14 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

This general attitude of studying the pupils, naturally 
led into special studies of the children as to their ideas, 
interests, likes and dislikes, etc., and thus originated the 
various studies recorded in this volume. Some of these 
investigations were made according to plans outlined by 
the author, while other plans were simply borrowed. 
Originality is not held as the chief merit of this volume. 
If it has any merit, it will be found rather in the direction 
of leading additional teachers into this interesting and 
profitable study of the children. 



CHAPTER II 

STUDY OF PUPILS' PREFERENCES 

Plan 

The following study of pupils' preferences is based 
upon a careful canvass of two thousand one hundred 
eighty-one papers, written as a language exercise, by 
third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grade pupils, 
in response to the following questions : 

1. What school study do you like best? Why? 

2. What school study do you like least? Why? 

3. What is your most pleasant work out of school? 
Why? 

4. What is your most unpleasant work out of school ? 
Why? 

The teachers also sent in statements of their preferences 
as far as school studies were concerned. 

The purposes for which the above exercises were given 
were: 

1. To give teachers an insight into their pupils' prefer- 
ences in regard to school and other work, so as to bring 
them into closer touch and sympathy with their pupils. 

2. To raise the enquiry whether or not teachers' prefer- 
ences for certain studies lead them to put more thought, 
energy and skill into the teaching of such studies and thus 
largely shape their pupils' preferences. 

3. To disclose to teachers, through their pupils' lack 






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i8 STUDIES AND OBSERVAllONS 

of interest, in what subjects they are doing their poorest 
teaching. 

4. To reveal to teachers tliose outside interests of 
pupils, which may be utilized in arousing interest in 
school work that has unfortunately become distasteful. 

On pages 16 and 17 is given a tabular view of the re- 
sults obtained in regard to the investigations of pupils' 
likes and dishkes of school studies, in which subjects of 
the curriculum are arranged in the order of preference 
as correctly as possible. 

A word of explanation is, however, necessary. Geog- 
raphy is not taught beyond the middle of the seventh 
grade, nor writing beyond the sixth, nor history, by text- 
book, in any but the seventh and eighth grades, nor civil 
government in any but senior eighth grade. Hence an 
exact average of all these studies cannot be tabulated, 
although in the case of geography it is approximately 
correct. 

The average age of each grade can be approximated 
by adding six to the grade; e.g., third grade pupils aver- 
age about nine years, etc. 

Arithmetic First Choice 

A study of the table presented discloses many inter- 
esting facts, some familiar and some otherwise. Every 
observing teacher is familiar with the fact that boys 
generally prefer arithmetic, while girls usually are more 
interested in geography and language. 

Our table shows that arithmetic heads the Hst for both 
boys and girls, the boys having a constantly increasing 
per cent, beginning with thirty in the third grade and 
ending with fifty in the eighth grade, or an average of 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 19 

thirty-eight per cent, while the girls begin with twenty- 
eight in third grade and end with thirty-nine in eighth 
grade, or an average of thirty-four per cent. 

What about the teachers' preferences? They have, as 
might be anticipated from the high per cent of girls' 
preferences for arithmetic, a more decided leaning toward 
that subject than their pupils, beginning with thirty-five 
per cent in the third grade and ending with sixty-two per 
cent in eighth grade, or an average of forty-nine per cent 
throughout. 

Here, no doubt, teachers' preferences have much to do 
in shaping pupils' preferences, but the high per cent on 
part of pupils is not wholly due to the teacher's love of 
the subject. There is a kind of fascination which grows 
out of the exactness in the operations of arithmetic. The 
pupil is lured on to storm the strongholds of his prob- 
lems, and capture the answers as trophies of his skill, as 
the soldier by the honors and spoils of war. 

Then, too, there is the common delusion that arith- 
metic is the most practical of studies, because it affords 
such excellent training for the reasoning powers, when 
the fact is that there is but little use for such exact reason- 
ing, since conclusions in real life are reached almost en- 
tirely through the balancing of probabihties. 

Geography, Second 

The subject next highest in favor is geography. Here 
the boys again lead the girls. The per cents do not 
increase as uniformly as in arithmetic, but the decrease 
in seventh grade — the highest grade in which geography 
is tausfht — is due to the fact thai il is onlv taught the 
lirst half of that grade. The maximum of ])ui)ils' i)refcr- 



20 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

ences is reached in sixth grade, that of teachers' in fourth 
Nevertheless, pupils' preferences follow pretty closely on 
that of the teachers', although averages run as follows: 
teachers, twenty per cent ; boys, twenty-nine per cent ; girh, 
twenty-two per cent. 

Had such an investigation as this been made no longer 
than ten years ago, geography would not have ranked 
second in pupils' preferences, but at the foot of the list. 
It was then presented as a mass of disconnected facts, 
and only appealed to the carrying power of the memory, 
upon which it attempted to place intolerable burderis. 
We now build our geographical structure upon a few 
fundamental ideas, such as topography, etc., interpret the 
unseen by the seen, make it a study of causes and effects, 
a thought, instead of a memory study, and presto! it 
becomes one of t'he most interesting studies of the public 
school curriculum. 

United States History, Third 

United States History ranks third on the list, but since 
it is only formally studied in seventh and eighth grades, 
but little can be said about it. History seems to have 
some strong characteristics, for while it ranks third in 
teachers' preferences, it ranks second in their dislikes. 
The boys' preferences exceed the girls' in the ratio of 
two to one. 

The fact that history ranks third in the preferred list, 
and because it deals with human actions and relations, 
and possesses therefore much rich material for character 
building, suggests that the present movement introducing 
history into all the grades — in the form of simple biog- 
raphy in the primaries — has much to commend it. 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 



Language, Fourth 



Language, including grammar in seventh and eighth 
grades, is given fourth place by teachers and girls, but 
drops to seventh place in the boys' preferences. The 
teachers' preferences average sixteen per cent, the girls' 
twelve per cent, while the boys' drop to four per cent. 
The maximum per cent of preference is reached by both 
boys and girls in the eighth grade, or in the study of 
grammar. In the case of the girls there was a gradually 
increasing appreciation from the lowest to the highest 
grade. The teachers' maximum was reached in the sixth 
grade. It is gratifying to note the increasing appreciation 
of this important subject among the pupils as they ap- 
proach the higher grades. 

Reading, Fifth 

Reading comes fifth in the hst, but pupils lead the 
teachers. Boys and girls each attain eight per cent, 
while the teachers only reach six per cent. What is a 
matter of some concern, is the decreasing per cent of 
preference for reading as pupils advance in the grades. 
Does reading become more and more a perfunctory 
process? Has famiharity with the selections driven 
nearly all inspiration out of them? Do we need fresher 
selections? Is reading not well taught? We do not 
wish to make any hasty generalizations, so put these 
suggestions in the form of questions. 

Spelling ranks sixth in pupils' preferences, with an 
average of eight per cent for the boys and nine per cent 
for the girls, but preferred by none of the teachers. 

Physiology holds sixth place in teachers' preferences. 



22 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

and eighth among the pupils. Only three per cent of 
both boys and girls regard this subject with favor. Strange 
that the study which, ought to appeal to the pupils as 
eminently useful and practical, should be regarded with 
so little favor! It suggests the inquiry whether teachers 
have tried to impress upon pupils the practical benefits 
of this study. 

Music, drawing and writing are last in the list, and 
preferred by none of the teachers. The pupils' prefer- 
ences run as follows: music, boys, three per cent; girls, 
seven per cent; drawing, boys, two per cent; girls, three 
per cent; writing, boys, one per cent; girls, one per 
cent. 

There was internal evidence in the answers that some 
boys have unfortunately dropped into the error of re- 
garding proficiency in music as a feminine accomplish- 
ment, and therefore unworthy the studious attention of 
the superior masculine intellect. This fear of descend- 
ing (?) into woman's sphere, and, in consequence mani- 
festing feminine characteristics, only alarms, as a rule, 
the weak, effeminate boy, who is in constant fear of be- 
traying his effeminacy, just as the bully, desiring to have 
courage imputed to him which he does not possess, 
strives to counterfeit courage by swagger and bluster. 

Civil Government, since it occupies less than a half 
year in the eighth grade, furnishes but little basis for 
comparison. The per cents of preference are: boys, nine; 
girls and teachers, none. This lack of interest on the part 
of girls and teachers is not surprising, when we remember 
that the present unjust disfranchisement of women de- 
prives them of one of the highest incentives to master 
this subject. 



in the school-room 23 

Order of Dislikes 

A glance at dislikes in school studies discloses the fact 
that pupils do not follow teachers as closely here as in 
preferences. Twenty-six per cent of the teachers dislike 
drawing, the highest per cent of dislikes among the 
teachers, while the pupils reach the highest per cent of 
dislikes in arithmetic. It should be recalled in this con- 
nection, that arithmetic also attained the highest per cent 
of preferences, which indicates that it must have strong 
characteristics. 

Briefly the order of dislikes of teachers as shown in per 
cents runs as follows : history, twenty-two ; spelling, six- 
teen; physiology, sixteen; music, eleven; writing, nine; 
arithmetic, six; language, six; reading, three ; geography, 
two. Pupils' dislikes given in per cents are: arithmetic, 
boys, fourteen; girls, twenty-four; language, boys, nine- 
teen; girls, fourteen ; spelling, boys, seventeen; girls, nine; 
physiology, boys, eight ; girls, sixteen ; music, boys, four- 
teen; girls, four; drawing, boys, nine; girls, nine; geog- 
raphy, boys, six; girls, twelve; history, boys, three; girls, 
ten; reading, boys, six; girls, four; writing, boys, four; 
girls, four. 

Reasons Assigned 

The reasons assigned for likes and dishkes afforded an 
interesting study of which only a few results can be given. 
The most common reason given for liking a study was the 
one that it was "easy." Twenty-five per cent of all the 
pupils gave this reason. It was gratifying, however, to 
notice that the highest per cent was in the third grade, 
the lowest canvassed, where it reached thirty-three per cent. 

As a wholesome contrast to this, quite a respectable 



24 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

number assigned as a reason for liking a study that it 
was "hard," and here the highest per cent was in the 
highest grades. Twelve per cent assigned "interesting" 
as a reason, and ten per cent "useful." In both cases, 
the highest per cents were found in the highest grades, 
as would be anticipated. Other general reasons for 
preferences which were quite frequently assigned were 
"Important"; " Understand it best " ; " Makes you think " ; 
"Can get a high standing in it," etc. 

In the dislikes, prejudices often afforded the foundation 
for them, as, "No sense in it"; "Can't get it"; "Have 
no talent for it" ; "Can't get it through my head." Such 
answers as these suggest that a duty may rest upon 
teachers in the direction of ascertaining and overcoming, 
wherever possible, such prejudices of pupils. They cer- 
tainly block the way to interest and progress. 

A few of the characteristic reasons for likes and dislikes 
are given in connection with the subjects of study for or 
against which they were urged. One pupil's objection 
to civil government was voiced in the following manner: 
"I don't care anything about elections." It requires no 
special power of discernment to conclude that this ob- 
jection came from a girl. The objections to drawing ran 
largely in these channels: "I can't draw well." "I don't 
expect to become an artist." "It will not help me to 
earn a living." 

Writing came in for a fair share of criticism. A common 
lower grade objection was the blots which so offended 
the youthful mind. Another and more common objec- 
tion was found in the tcdiousness of so much writing in 
connection with other subjects of study. Possibly there 
is some 2;round for this criticism. 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 25 

Reading called forth objections like these: "There are 
so many to read." "I get tired standing." "You have 
to keep the place all the time." 

Physiology was characterized as "disgusting," "horri- 
ble." "I do not like to study about people who use 
narcotics when they ought not." 

Grammar called forth these comments: "When a per- 
son uses correct grammar, you have more respect for 
him." "I can say what I want to and make people 
understand me without learning synopsis and conjuga- 
tion of verbs." "I don't see what good it does to learn 
all those rules and things." 

Music: "Brightens my other studies, and makes me 
happy." "My voice is not sweet." "Generally of no 
good to a boy." 

History: "Helps to guide people in the future to govern 
the country." "Has too many dates to remember." 

Arithmetic: "Don't let you think of anything else." 
"Pleasant to work for an answer." "Makes my brains 
stronger." "Makes the blood circulate the most." "I 
enjoy thinking out a hard problem. It gives me pleasure 
to find I have solved it correctly — something of the same 
feeling that one has when standing on the summit of a 
mountain after having climbed it to get a view." 

Likes and Dislikes Outside of School 

The likes and dislikes of pupils of work to be done out 
of school, cover a wide field and are hard to summarize. 
Their chief value lies in reveahng to each teacher the 
possible starting point for more deeply interesting in 
school work those indifferent pupils who are not inter- 
ested in their studies. Such a study also affords an 



26 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

interesting glimpse of the trend which modern children's 
ideas are taking in reference to home duties. 

The boys have no very decided preference for any 
kinds of work outside of school; however, that is not a 
discovery of modern Child Study. Eight per cent like 
doing chores, and two per cent running errands. Among 
the girls, fifteen per cent express preference for various 
forms of housework, in which sewing, however, heads 
the Hst. Tending the baby reaches four per cent, and 
practicing on the piano, seven per cent. 

Reasons Assigned 

Some of the characteristic replies for liking certain 
kinds of work are as follows: "I like housework because 
girls ought to know how to do it." Sensible mother to 
instill such wholesome ideas into her daughter's mind. 
"You can't tell when you may be called upon to do 
housework." That's good sense, too. "I like herding 
because there's money in it." Presumably that boy will' 
prove a money maker, as the business instinct crops out 
early. 

"I like to help mamma because it makes her feel good, 
and it makes me feel good, too." This little girl has 
early learned the secret of happiness. "Getting up early 
and making the fires makes a man healthy and wise." 
Why not inspire our boys to perform unpleasant duties 
cheerfully, because such an attitiude under the law of 
compensation will receive its sure reward? "If you do 
hate anything, you will always have to do it the 
most." Therefore, don't hate any duty, seems to be the 
conclusion. 

About two-lifths of the l^oys have a very decided aver- 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 27 

sion to doing chores, taking care of baby, sawing wood, 
milking, running errands, and the thousand and one other 
things for which they are commonly supposed to be speci- 
ally adapted. One gives utterance to his woes by saying, 
"I have to chase after my little brother, who runs away 
two or three times a day." Another sets forth his sad 
complaint against milking: "You get kicked, and have 
milk spilled all over you." 

The girls do not seem to take kindly to housekeeping. 
Some varieties of housework, such as cooking, making 
beds, sweeping, dusting, come in for only a moderate 
share of criticism, but there is a severe and wholesale 
condemnation of washing dishes. Notice the character- 
istic expressions. Washing dishes is warm, hot, wet, 
hard, monotonous, tiresome, disagreeable, not amusing, 
mussy, sloppy, dirty, greasy work. 

All kinds of reasons are assigned for disliking dish- 
washing. Here are a few of them: "Washing dishes 
makes me tired." "Makes my head ache." "Makes 
my fingers ache." "Makes my back ache." "Makes 
my feet ache." These aches from head to foot as a result 
of dish washing are sad to contemplate. 

But these do not include all the serious ills directly 
charged to dish washing. "Makes my hands feel so 
queer." "Swells my fingers." "Makes my hands tan 
and enlarges the joints." "Don't hke to have my hands 
in greasy dish water." "Makes me sick." "Makes me 
catch cold." "Had rather visit with the company." 
"I don't seem to take to it." "Washing dishes is always 
the same thing." "The dishes get muddy again right 
away." "I have done it c\cr since 1 was seven years 
old. It is very dirty work. If 1 ever get married, I will 



28 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

have a servant to wash my dishes." "I always did hate 
washing dishes, and I always will, I guess." 

This gives a dreary outlook for the future of house- 
keeping. Must we become more and more dependent 
on the already too independent yet non-dependable ser- 
vant girl? Is our boasted twentieth century civilization 
to be baffled in its attempts at solution of the housekeep- 
ing problem? These will prove highly distracting ques- 
tions, did we not see bur possible salvation from these 
misfortunes in the rapid introduction of domestic science 
departments into the public schools. These are training 
up intelligent housekeepers and homekeepers, and thus 
lifting such work out of the field of drudgery into the 
realm of intelligent, skillful accomplishment. 

Summary 

To summarize brietly: 
• I . This particular study presented convincing evidence 
to the teachers that their preferences did more largely 
influence the preferences of their pupils than they had 
supposed, that their thought, energy and skill were more 
largely concentrated on these preferred studies than they 
were conscious of, and thus put them in the judicial 
frame of mind towards the proper amount of emphasis 
to be given each school subject. 

2. It led the teachers to look carefully into the causes 
of lack of interest on the part of pupils, whether they in 
their interest and enthusiasm in teaching preferred 
studies, had not neglected to throw even extra energy 
into the teaching of less inspiring subjects of the school 
curriculum. It brought home to the individual teacher 
a sense of responsibility for her pupils' indifference or 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 29 

dislikes and the need of a better, more inspiring presenta- 
tion of the distasteful, or uninteresting subjects. 

3. In some instances, pupils who were entirely out of 
harmony with their school work, were gradually inter- 
ested in some few lines of school work, through the es- 
tablishing of points of contact between school work and 
the interesting work outside. Of course this meant 
ignoring ^the course of study for the boys, but it was 
nevertheless a plain duty. 

4. The most helpful results of such investigations as 
the foregoing are the extrication of each pupil from the 
mass, and a more thorough, thoughtful, sympathetic 
study of him as an individual, or the careful noting of 
those pecuhar traits which make up his individuality, 
and the establishment, in consequence, of those more 
intimate and companionable relations between teacher 
and pupil which are so essential to the attainment of the 
highest efficiency in school work. 



CHAPTER III 

CHILDREN'S KNOWLEDGE WHEN ENTERING 
SCHOOL 

Purpose and Plan 

The following study, based on a similar investigation 
made by Dr. Hall, was taken up for the purpose of ac- 
quainting our primary teachers with what stock of knowl- 
edge the children, aged about five years, first entered 
school. It is a matter of some importance to the primary 
teacher what knowledge the child has gained in his pre- 
school life, what foundations are already laid, what the stock 
of knowledge is to which she is to add. Time must not 
be wasted in teaching that which is already known, nor 
on the other hand must there be connecting links left 
out in going from the child's known to his related 
unknown. 

The questions were designed to draw out the child's 
knowledge of number, color, his power of observation, 
how well he has stored his mind with general ideas of 
things seen every day. 

Only one hundred fifty-three children were interrogated, 
but they were typical children and from all parts of the 
city, so that they fairly represented the average. They 
were questioned the first day of their school life, each 
separately, so that the replies of one could not influence 
the replies of others. The results were, in some instances, 

30 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM ,^i 

surprising, but always interesting and instructive to the 
teachers. 

Questions and Per Cents 

These were the questions asked and the per cent of 
correct answers is given after each question: 

1. Pick out two objects, ninety-five per cent. Four 
objects, sixty-nine per cent. Three objects, seventy-six 
per cent. 

2. What is a brook? Eighteen per cent. 

3. What is a pond ? Fifty-four per cent. 

4. What is a river? Eighty-one per cent. 

5. What is a hill? Seventy-eight per cent. 

6. What is dew? Fifteen per cent. 

7. What season is this? Forty-eight per cent. 

8. Have you seen the sun rise ? Sixty-nine per cent. 

9. Have you seen the moon? Ninety-two per cent. 

10. Where are the stars? Eighty-six per cent. 

11. Pick out a green card, seventy-nine per cent; a 
blue card, seventy-three per cent; a red card, eighty-six 
per cent. 

12. Which is your right hand ? Seventy-one per cent. 

13. Where is your cheek? Seventy-one per cent. 

14. What is a frog? Fifty-seven per cent. 

15. What is a chicken? Seventy-nine per cent. 

16. What is a cow? Seventy-six per cent. 

17. What is a tree? Sixty-three per cent. 

18. Where does corn grow? Fifty-six per cent. 

19. Where do pears grow? Fifty-two per cent. 

20. Where do beans grow? Forty-seven per cent. 

21. Where do potatoes grow? Sixty-nine per cent. 

22. Where do apples grow? Eighty per cent. 



32 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

23. Where does milk come from ? Eighty-six per cent. 

24. From what is leather made? Ten per cent. ■ 

25. From what is flour made? Sixteen per cent. 

26. Where does wood come from? Fifty per cent. 

27. Where does ham come from? Sixteen per cent. 

28. From what is butter made? Forty-six per cent, 

29. From what is your coat or dress made? Sixty 
per cent. 

30. Where is God? Eighty-nine per cent. 

31. What is right? Forty-seven per cent. 

32. What is a school? Seventy-three per cent. 

In regard to number, ninety-five per cent of these 
beginners knew the number two, and seventy-five per 
cent the number three. This led our primary teachers 
to the conclusion that they had been wasting some time 
in their attempts to develop gradually correct ideas of 
these numbers. 

That only eighteen per cent of them gave correct 
answers to What is a brook? is probably explained by 
the fact that brook is not a familiar word in the children's 
vocabulary. One rephed: "A stream of water." An- 
other, "Water that has flies on." Another, who evi- 
dently wished to be very exact said, "A little thing that 
water runs in." 

Characteristic Replies 

Some characteristic replies to What is a pond? were: 
"Where there are frogs." "Round and water stays in 
it." "A place where brother fishes." "A flood." "A 
great big one where water stays." 

That only seventy-eight per cent knew what a hill was 
is surprising, but that only sixty-nine per cent knew that 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM ^^ 

they had ever seen the sun rise, is still more surprising. 
Some interesting answers concerning the hill were: "A 
steep place." ''Big steep dirt." "A place to slide down 
on." "A big, big place of earth." The following de- 
scription is highly recommended for its terseness: "A 
hill is a bump." 

Dew was described as "Wet on the grass." "Frost." 
"Is misty." "Sprinkles." 

Where are the stars ? was generally correctly answered. 
A few peculiar replies are given: "The stars are in a 
paper." "Up in the moon." "By our house." "Up 
to Jesus." 

More than one-fourth did not know the right hand from 
the left, nor where their cheeks were. Fundamental ideas 
of direction and location may be unexpectedly wanting 
in some children. 

The replies to What is a frog? were in some cases 
unique, as: "A hop toad." "A hopping thing." "A 
jumper." "Like a nigger." "Something that can cat 
you up." 

Some characteristic descriptions of the chicken were: 
"Got feathers on." "Is good to eat." "Makes eggs." 
"Can lay eggs and wear feathers." 

In case of the cow: "It has a tail." "Got hair on." 
"It's a bossy." "It hooks people." "Something hke 
a mule with horns." In tlie last answer it is not diflicult 
to guess at the origin of the "apperception mass." 

In answer to What is a tree? the following replies 
were typical: "It got roots and limbs." "It is to sit 
under." "It is to chmb up on." "Trees make the 
wind blow." Subsequent investigations have shown that 
manv children entertain the idea, that, instead of the 



;54 STUDIES AND OBSER\"ATIONS 

wind causing the trees to sway back and forth, the trees, 
as huge fans, cause the wind to blow. ^ 

There was much misinformation as to where beans 
grow. Some said, "Under the ground"; others, "On 
trees"; and still others, "At the store." Even potatoes 
were supposed by some to grow on trees, and one pupil 
very emphatically said, "Potatoes don't grow." 

A large number of children thought, for obvious reasons, 
that milk came from the milkman. 

The origin of leather was the most difhcult question. 
Nine-tenths of them were uninformed, although these 
questions were asked in a city where very large packing- 
houses were located. One mentioned wood, another 
rubber, and one said, "Out of a kangaroo." Some of 
the children seemed to have some knowledge of the tricks 
of the leather industry and answered, "Paper." 

There was much confusion and difference of opinion 
as to what flour was made from. All kinds of raw ma- 
terial were mentioned, such as, snow, grass, salt, yeast, 
paper, eggs, milk, corn, etc. 

The sources from which wood came were quite varied: 
"From the coal office." "From the river." (Presum- 
ably driftwood.) "From chopped down trees." One 
boy broadly put it, "God made it." 

For a packing house city it was surprising that not 
more than sixteen per cent knew where ham came from. 
Several stated that it came from lard, some from the store, 
others from the packing house. One pupil believed that 
ham came from "killed cows." 

The origin of butter was easier, nearly half were cor- 
rectly informed. There were, however, some answers 
which indicated serious misconceptions, as: "From the 



IX THE SCHOOL-ROOM 35 

churn." "From buttermilk." "Lard.". "Grease." 
"Apples." 

One boy stated frankly that his coat was made of rags. 
Presumably he referred to a process of rejuvenation of 
the coat handed down by his worthy sire. 

In asking Where is God? it was not anticipated that 
any profound acquaintance with theology would be dis- 
closed. All that was sought, was to ascertain whether 
the simple idea of God's existence somewhere in heaven 
was accepted. Nearly all seemed to hold such an idea. 
A few put it differently, however. "One said, "In an- 
other world." Another, "Upon the hill." Still another, 
"Up in the moon." One rather naively put it, "God is 
in my prayer." 

There were various ideas as to What is right ? but gen- 
erally expressed by some specific act. In the case of 
the girlsjright was to "mind mamma," "to behave," "to 
set the table," to do things pertaining to neatness and 
order, while the boys mentioned gross forms of mis- 
conduct to be refrained from, such as: "Not to run away." 
"Not to swear." "Not to He or steal." 

The last question, What is a school? brought out a 
variety of interesting replies. Several made the school 
identical with the school-house. Quite a number ex- 
pressed their views in the old fashioned nomenclature, 
declaring the school to be "To show you a, b, c." One 
characterized it as the place "Where children come." 
A large number thought it a place "to learn lessons," 
"to spell and read." One, in rather a surprised tone, 
declared, "Why, it's here." One urchin evidently bor- 
rowed his ideas from that small class of parents who are 
pleased to send ihcir children to school to get rid of the 



36 STUDIES AND OBSERA'ATIONS 

responsibility of looking after them, and promptly piped 
up, "The school is to put little kids in." 

"Delightful task to rear the tender thought, 
To teach the young idea how to shoot." 

Who is it that does not long to be a primary teacher? 

Results 

Concede that the foregoing investigation furnishes only 
an occasion for a little amusement and a few possible 
hints or suggestions to primary teachers for the present. 
These, with other investigations, may furnish some data 
in time, which may lead to fruitful generalizations about 
the child. 

Ever since Bacon set the fashion for careful, accurate, 
scientific investigation of Nature's secrets, man, with 
scalpel and microscope, has been searching everywhere. 
Almost everything under the sun has been pried into, 
whether it offered any immediate prospect of benefit or 
not. 

We have no quarrel to make with that spirit, for we 
remember that Galvani's minute investigations into ani- 
mal electricity, a century ago, seemed utterly valueless, 
and only called forth the derisive title of "frog's dancing 
master," and yet this wonderful age of electricity is the 
legitimate outcome of those investigations. 

When we thus understand that no facts can be regarded 
as insigniiicant, but that all careful investigation will, 
in the mind of some Morse, Edison, Marconi or Koch, 
be made fruitful, we can heartily commend such in- 
vestigations in whatever field. 

Amidst all this spirit of investigation, it seems strange 



IX THE SCHOOL-ROOM 37 

that but little effort has been expended, until recently, 
in a careful, systematic study of the child. The last 
decade or so has seen, however, a marked change in this 
respect. Now, every fact concerning the growth and 
development of the threefold nature of the child is being 
recorded, no matter how insignificant or useless it may 
seem. It is believed that out of this large mass of facts 
which is being collected from so many sources, some 
thinker or philosopher, with keen vision and power to 
generalize, will discover relations, will trace out prin- 
ciples and laws where now none are perceived. This is 
the faith that incites the author to pubhsh what may be 
deemed at present insignificant details concerning the 
children. The right perspective is not at present posi- 
tivclv settled. 



CHAPTER IV 

PRIMARY PUPILS' IDEAS OF CONDUCT AND 
PUNISHMENT 

Plan 

In taking up the study of the primary pupils' ideas of 
conduct and punishment, the following suggestions were 
made to the primary teachers: 

Read over twice to your pupils the following story, 
and then ask them to write answers to the two questions 
given at the close of the story. Do not aid the pupils, 
or try to influence their thought. Endeavor to secure 
an unprejudiced expression of their ideas of proper con- 
duct and punishment. 

The Story of Charlie 

Little Charlie, one day in school, while all the children 
were busy on their number work, threw down his pencil 
and said in a loud, cross voice, "It's no use. I can't do 
this number work." 

The cliildren all looked up and were very much sur- 
prised that any one should talk out loud in that cross 
way. His teacher said pleasantly and encouragingly, 
"Don't give up, Charlie. Please try again. I'm sure 
you can do it." 

Charlie said in a defiant way, "I don't care, I won't 

try again." 

38 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 39 

The Two Questions 

What do you think of Charhe ? 

What should the teacher have done with him? 

Answers were received from ten hundred twenty-one 
pupils whose ages ranged from five to seven years. 

What First Grades Thought of Charlie 

Out of three hundred first grade pupils, two hundred 
eight said, "Charlie was a bad boy." Sixty-four char- 
acterized him, "A naughty boy." Eighteen, "A mean 
boy." One each: "Not a nice boy." "Not right." 
"Was mad." "Very, very bad boy." '"Pretty bad boy." 
"An awful disgraceful boy." "He must be a scamp." 

First Grades' Treatment of Charlie 

Two hundred nineteen out of three hundred first grade 
pupils, or seventy-three per cent, expressed the opinion 
that the teacher should have whipped, licked or spanked 
Charhe. Thirty-one said, "Punish him." Thirteen, 
"Scold him." Seven, "Shake him." Six, "Send him 
home." Five, "Keep him in at recess." Three, "Send 
him to the principal." Three, "Ought to have put him 
in the baby room." One each: " Ought to do something." 
"Charhe ought to be ashamed." "Ought to get his 
lesson." "Stand on floor." "Sit in a chair." "Make 
him mind." "Coax him." "Talk to him." "Be kind 
to him." "Take him down and spank him." "Whip 
and send home to his mother." "Whip and shut him in 
a closet." "Give him an awful whipping." "Suspend 
him." "Expel him," etc. 



40 studies and observations 

What Second Grades Thought of Charlie 

Out of seven hundred twenty-one second grade pupils, 
four hundred fifty-one, or about sixty-two per cent, held 
that "Charhe was a bad boy." One hundred live, "A 
naughty boy." Twenty-five, "A lazy boy." Twenty- 
three, "A mean boy." Eighteen, "Was rude." Seven- 
teen, "Was cross." Sixteen, "Was not polite." Six, 
"Was impudent." Six, "Was wrong." Five, "Was not 
very nice." Four, "Was very angry." Three, "Did not 
want to try." Three, "Did not want to learn." Two, 
" Charlie was a funny boy." One each: " Charlie didn't 
try hard enough." "Was disappointed." "Was very dis- 
. obedient." "Was ill-tempered." "Was crazy." "Not 
a very smart boy." "Don't think much of him." "Didn't 
like his teacher." "Ought not to have given up, but 
try again." "He wasn't right." "He was foolish." 
"He was unkind." 

Second Grades' Treatment of Charlie 

Four hundred fifty-eight second grade pupils, or about 
sixty-three per cent, beheved that Charlie's teacher should 
have whipped, hcked or strapped him. Forty-two said, 
"Punish him," without naming the kind of punishment. 
Thirty-eight said, "Scolded him." Thirty-one, "Ought 
to have made him try again." Nineteen, "Ought to 
have made him stay after school." Seventeen, "Ought 
to have sent him home." Fourteen, "Ought to have sent 
him to the principal." Five, "Ought to have shaken 
him up." Five, "Ought to have marked him off on his 
card." Five, "To have sent him in a corner." Four, 
"To put him in a lower grade." Four, "To have talked 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 41 

to him." Three, "To have punished him- severely and 
made him try again." Three, "Sent him into the hall." 
Three, "Expelled him." Three, "Make him write, 'I 
must behave myself.'" Three, "Ought to make hisself 
do it." One each: "Whip and send to the Reform 
School." "Stand him on the seat." "Stand him on 
the teacher's desk." "Teacher should have given him 
an easy one." "Put soap and water in his mouth." 
"Sent him home and made him stay there until he would 
be good." One boy extricates himself from answering 
the troublesome question in true Yankee fashion by 
asking another: "What has a boy a teacher for?" 

Some Inferences 

A study of the children's answers furnishes some in- 
teresting suggestions, most of which cannot rise to the 
dignity of generalizations, but must remain as mere 
inferences or hints. One of the criticisms justly made 
against child study is that generalizations are too hastily 
made and from too narrow a basis. These critics, how- 
ever, may be saddled with a share of this responsibihty 
for hasty generalization, in that they are constantlv 
demanding, "Where are your results?" 

It is encouraging to notice that almost every pupil 
thought Charhe's conduct was seriously at fault, and 
deserved severe condemnation and punishment. This 
opinion was expressed in the most positive and convinc- 
ing manner, and warrants the generalization that chil- 
dren's moral sense in matters of school conduct is gener- 
ally sane and wholesome. It can and must be counted 
on in the right management of the school-room. No 
other influence can contribute so much to right disci- 



42 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

pline, nor, on the other hand, tend to work out such 
disastrous resuUs. If the moral sense of children does 
not reinforce the teacher's discipline, somebody or some- 
thing is seriously at fault. The presumption is that the 
teacher is at fault, and she is wise to pause and carefully 
investigate conditions, whenever she finds herself with- 
out this support. The successful teacher is highly 
sensitive to such antagonisms and seeks at once to 
correct them. 

In regard to Charlie's punishment, it was a matter of 
much surprise that seventy-three per cent in first grade, 
and sixty-three per cent in second grade, or sixty-eight per 
cent in all, favored corporal punishment in some form. 
At first thought, the suggestion arises, that corporal 
punishment must have been in high favor in the system 
of schools where this investigation was made, but such 
was not the case. In fact, the contrary was true. While 
corporal punishment was permitted, yet it was very 
rarely resorted to, as the records disclosed. 

In this connection it should be recalled that, in passing 
from the first to the second grade, there was a decrease 
of ten per cent among those who favored corporal pun- 
ishment. This decrease points towards the conclusion 
that the home is chiefly responsible for the high favor 
in which corporal punishment is held, and, consoling 
thought, that the schools themselves are helping to 
relegate the rigorous rule of the rod to the realms of 
reprobation. 

Another inference that might be made, is that children, 
as a rule, do not object to severe penalties being inflicted 
upon them. At least they seem to be inclined to sit 
in rather severe judgment upon each other's misconduct. 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 43 

A Study in Adjectives 

This investigation furnishes also an interesting study 
of primary children's use of adjectives. The lack of 
ability to use discriminatingly a variety of adjectives,' 
was particularly noticeable in the first grade, where 
ninety-seven per cent of them could only characterize 
Charlie's conduct under one of three adjectives, viz.-' 
Bad, naughty, mean. 

In the second grade, there was marked increase in the 
scope of the adjectives. Here an additional seventeen 
per cent were able to utilize a wider and better choice 
of adjectives. 

The whole range of adjectives used to characterize 
Charlie's conduct, in first grade numbered only seven, 
while the second grade utihzed nineteen adjectives in a 
much more discriminating manner. 

Unique Answers 

A few of the more unique answers are given in full. 
A little first grade girl said: "I thought Charlie was a 
naughty boy and I thought the teacher was very kind to 
Charlie. She ought to have whipped him and scolded 
him and maked him do it anyway." 

Another first grade pupil wrote: "Charlie was a bad 
boy to say 'I won't' to his teacher when all the other 
children were doing number work. The teacher ought 
to have whipped him and sent him home to his mother, 
and his mother ought to have whipped him and made him 
go to bed and stay all day, and he would not do it any 
more in school." 

A second grade pupil stated: "I think he was a very 
bad boy, and I think he ought to have been slapped. 1 



44 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

never did that in my life. She ought to have whipped him, 
I think. Don't you?" 

Another second grade pupil wrote: "I think Charlie 
was the very baddest that he could have been. I think 
Charlie's teacher ought to have whipped him hard. I 
think he will never get to be a lawyer." 

Indian Children's Ideas of Punishment 

As a contrast to white children's ideas of punishment, 
the author took occasion to visit the Indian schools of 
Winnebago Agency and secured from one of the teachers 
there thirty-five opinions of Indian children of first and 
second grades, but whose ages ranged from seven to 
twelve years. 

The following story was related to them: "The day 
before Thanksgiving Day, Johnnie's mother made some 
nice pumpkin pies, and set them in a row on the pantry 
shelf. Johnnie wanted his mother to cut one pie and 
give him a piece. But she said, 'No, Johnnie, you must 
wait till to-morrow, then you may have all you can eat.' 
But Johnnie thought he could not wait so long, and when 
his mother went out into the yard, he chmbed upon a 
chair and got one of the pies. He slipped out behind 
the house and there he ate the whole pie." 

The Indian children were then asked to write answers 
to the following question: What do you think ought to 
be done with Johnnie? 

The white children, in the preceding investigation, as 
will readily be recalled, manifested but little acquaintance 
with the wholesome law of consequences, which should, 
as far as possible, underlie all punishment. Nearly one- 
third of the punishments suggested by the Indian children 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 45 

were along that line, such as: "Johnnie ought not to be 
given any Thanksgiving dinner nor pie." "Give him 
bread and water," etc. 

Jessie White suggested that Johnnie's mother ought to 
tie up his hands until he learns how to behave himself, 
and Mary Gray-Wolf had still a better scheme to bring 
the offending hands to their senses, by requiring that 
Johnnie should stand and hold the pumpkin pie until 
his hands got tired. 

Whipping was advocated by only one-fifth of the 
Indian children, in contrast to tAvo-thirds of the white 
children who favored corporal punishment. 

Most of the punishments they suggested as proper for 
Johnnie were unique, such as: "Clean woodwork." 
"Saw wood all day." "Clean up the yard." "Plow all 
day." "Put into jail." "Send him" to bed." 

George Whitebear wrote: "I think Johnnie was a bad 
boy. His mother ought to whip him, and make him stand 
on tip-toes all afternoon. She ought not to let him eat 
his dinner, and whip him again on Thanksgiving Day." 

John Decora said: "Jolinnie's mother ought to make 
him get into cold icc-Avater, and make him stay there all 
day and night and have nothing at all to cat on Thanks- 
giving Day. Then he'll know how to behave himself 
next time." 

Illustrated Story 

These same Indian children were requested to illustrate 
the story of a bad boy who caught a mouse and put it in 
the teacher's desk, and also illustrate what happened. 
Two papers are submitted as prepared, one by Agnes 
Pelkey and the other by George Field. 



46 



STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 



^ 



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IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 



47 











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liC^^ oOla^ 



y^u^^QnU'f^^yhq. 'fu. 



<,^m^mmmmm'mm^m 



CHAPTER V 

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BEST TEACHER 
AS RECOGNIZED BY CHILDREN 

There have been numerous pedagogical works written, 
in which the characteristics of the best, or model, teacher 
have been set forth, but usually from the standpoint of 
some eminent educator. In describing that model teacher, 
the eminent educator draws largely from his own experi- 
ence, and clothes his model with his own characteristics, 
supplemented, it may be, by some traits observed in other 
successful teachers, and rounded out by a few more, 
evolved from his inner consciousness. 

Without wishing to decry the helpfulness of such 
descriptions, it may be well to depart from this customary 
view, and glean some of the characteristics of the best 
teacher from the standpoint of the pupil. While the 
judgment of the pupil, no doubt, is immature and liable 
to error, yet those characteristics which impress the pupils 
favorably, which lead to a high appreciation on their part, 
and establish those relations of sympathy and co-operation 
so essential in the school-room, must have some value. 
In these days of child study, why should not these char- 
acteristics be investigated, and some ideas gained of the 
best teacher from the children's standpoint? 

Believing that there might be some useful information 
gained from such an investigation, probably only con- 
firmatory of the views held bv the eminent educators, 
48 ■• 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 49 

but, in any event, helpful to the teachers making the 
investigation, we undertook the work after the following 
plan: 

Purposes and Plans 

Purpose, to learn something of the children's ideas as 
to what constitutes the most helpful teacher, and what 
are the chief characteristics of the best teacher. 

Preliminary and first grade pupils were not included in 
this study. 

Provide pupils with paper and pencil, and request each 
to write at top of sheet name of school building, his name, 
age and grade. 

Place on the blackboard the following questions, and 
request pupils to express themselves clearly and fully. 

Recall all your teachers as fully as you can, and single 
out the one who helped }'ou the most. 

Questions 

1. In what way did she help you? 

2. Do you recall any special word or act of hers 
which greatly helped you? If so, what is it? 

3. Will you write, in a half dozen sentences, a de- 
scription of the best teacher you have had, without nam- 
ing her? 

Teachers were instructed to carefully examine the 
replies before sending them to the superintendent's office, 
so that they might learn what characteristics their children 
most appreciated. 

Two thousand four hundred eleven papers, from second 
to eighth grade inclusive, were collated in the superin- 
tendent's office, and proved a most interesting study. 
For convenience, a few of the more common replies as 



50 



STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 



to how pupils were helped, and in reference to the best 
teacher's characteristics, are presented in tabular form. 

Tabular Form 



Giades 


No. 


Helped 
in 

Studies 

All 


Personal 
Appear- 
ance of 
Teacher 


Good or 
Kind 


Patient 


Polite 


Neat 


Cross 

1% 


Second 


404 


59% 


sz% 


2% 


2% 


2% 


Third 


581 


All 


57% 


52% 


4% 


5% 


8% 


2% 


Fourth 


5" 


95% 


68% 


63% 


9% 


5% 


11% 


2% 


Fifth 


347 


85% 


50% 


67% 


16% 


7% 


6% 


3% 


Sixth 


245 


55% 


41% 


55% 


14% 


7% 


4% 


5% 


Seventh 


157 


40% 


74% 


45% 


14% 


2% 


9% 


2% 


Eighth 


166 


39% 


64% 


38% 


22% 


3% 


11% 


0% 


Total 


2,411 




58% 


55% 


9% 


7% 


4% 


2% 



How Helped 

In reply to the question, "In what way did she help 
you?" all the lower grades mentioned some particular 
study or studies, but other and more important matters 
were mentioned in the higher grades. 

In the lower grades such expressions as, "She helped 
me to be good," "to study," "to like school," "to be 
polite," "not to whisper," "to be kind," "not to swear, 
chew nor smoke," were generally given, while in the 
higlier grades, such rephes as "to observe," "to control 
myself," "to cure myself of some of my bad habits," "to 
strengthen my character," were characteristic. 

A careful study of these replies suggests the thought 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 51 

that pupils are generally more appreciative of the earnest, 
intelligent efforts of their teachers to train and develop 
them, especially along the line of character building, than 
is commonly supposed, and that this sense of appreciation, 
while it is often concealed beneath a careless or impassive 
exterior, has been aroused and will intensify as the years 
come and go. 

In What Way? 

In response to the question, "Do you recall any special 
word or act of hers which greatly helped you?" the 
lower grades made frequent references to some word of 
commendation or praise which had been an inspiration 
to them, such as: "She said I was a good writer." "A 
good speller." "Your work looks 'neat." "By telling 
me I improved in my lessons," etc. 

The deep sense of appreciation of words of encourage- 
ment and commendation was not entirely confined to 
lower grades, but manifested itself to a greater degree than 
anticipated in higher grades. If the simple statement of 
the teacher, "Your work looks neat," when such state- 
ment harmonized with the facts, so greatly inspired and 
liclped a pupil that he remembered it several years after- 
ward, may it not be wise for teachers to be on the look- 
out for such occasions and utilize them more frequently? 
I\'achers, in their constant watch for errors, imbibe too 
much of the criticising spirit, and sometimes fail to recog- 
nize that it is also their duty to commend excellence, and 
thus give needed inspiration. 

From among the many interesting statements which 
were recalled as highly helpful, only a few can be quoted 
at ranriom. This was a favorite quotation: "If at first 



52 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

you don't succeed, try, try again." "Honesty is the 
best policy," and "Attention to duty is the secret of 
success," were also given as helpful in shaping their hves. 

To lodge such energizing sentiments in the memories 
of pupils and make them moulding, stimulating forces 
in their lives is a' rare privilege, and carries with it much 
responsibility. 

The most helpful words of the teacher which were 
remembered and appreciated, were very frequently along 
the line of self-help, as: "If you find out for yourself, 
you will not forget so soon." "I cannot help you unless 
you help yourself." "Never say I can't, but do the best 
you can." 

Numerous references were made to statements in which 
the teacher placed confidence in pupils, and they v\^ere 
delighted to respond, as: "She sometimes left the room, 
to see if she could trust us, and we were always honest, 
and did not do anything behind her back." 

Here is a splendid tribute to a genuine teacher who 
could impress her noble spirit upon her pupils. "When 
you did anything wrong, she would take you aside and 
explain that you had done wrong, and it would make 
anybody try to be good when you had a little talk with 
her." 

So many pupils referred to the little attentions given 
them, a smile, a pleasant word, tying a ribbon, recog- 
nition on the street, a visit, etc., that it was clear that this 
was a royal way into their affections. 

Duty of Teacher to Dress Well 

In describing the "best teacher," it was a matter of 
surprise at first that in every grade, except one, more 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 



53 



than half of them gave i)rominence to her dress and 
personal appearance. Had this occurred only in the low- 
est grades, it would readily be attributed to the propensity 
of the child to note and judge only superficial quahties; 
but when the highest grades gave dress and personal 
appearance even greater prominence, it raised the ques- 
tion whether it was not, after all, a highly important 
factor in school work. The children are highly sus- 
ceptible to such impressions of taste and neatness, and 
that they quickly imitate and improve under such in- 
fluences, is well known and constantly utilized, but is 
the other consideration, that teachers should dress with 
neatness and taste in order to attract and win their pupils, 
given due weight? Ought not the teacher to consider 
this matter of dress and general personal appearance in 
the light of a professional duty, if from no other, because 
it gives her additional power to cultivate those pleasant 
relations of S3^mpathy and affection which are so essential 
in school-room work ? 

Other Characteristics 

Patience, aiways needed in training the young, received 
quite a high degree of appreciation. As one enthusi- 
astically expressed it in his own vigorous if somewhat 
inelegant vernacular: "She never flew off the handle." 
As would be inferred, this appreciation manifested itself 
least in the lowest grades, and very rapidly increased in 
the highest grades. 

Politeness was another trait frequently referred to. 
Many statements indicated how responsive pupils gener- 
ally are to courteous treatment, and how resentful of 
discourteous treatment. A girl manifested her appreci- 



54 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

ation by saying: "Her actions helped me to do better." 
Neatness was another trait many recalled. Not only 
was the dress of the teacher referred to, but also her 
desk. Teachers need to remember that dress, desk, 
blackboards, the entire room, all are making lasting im- 
pressions, and must not be ignored. 

It was a little amusing to find that a few pupils com- 
mended crossness. That this may not be a little crumb 
of comfort to that rapidly disappearing class of teachers 
whose chief reliance is in scolding, it must be stated that 
in nearly every one of these cases there was internal 
evidence that the pupil thought a tongue-lashing was 
doing penance for misconduct, and in no sense regener- 
ative. 

On the other hand, the numerous references to the 
pleasant, mild, good-natured, not cross, not cranky, 
happy, lovely, agreeable, friendly, loving, patient, cheer- 
ful, smiling, sweet-tempered, full of fun, merry, not 
snappy, gentle, always in good humor, amiable, jolly 
teacher, would convince the most skeptical scold that 
scolding is neither a regenerative process, nor a pass- 
port into the affections and good-will of a pupil. 

A Teacher's Mirror 

There is an erroneous idea that sometimes creeps into 
the thought of a certain class of teachers who are not 
close observers, that children are easily misled. They 
flatter themselves that they can easily conceal from the 
children their lack of sincerity, their lack of genuine 
interest, their lack of thorough preparation, their lack of 
self-control, their failures or shortcomings of whatever 
kind. Such teachers need to disillusionize themselves, 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 55 

and as a means to that end, they only need to study the 
following characteristic statements of the children made 
in describing the "best teacher." They cannot fail to 
see that the children cannot be hoodwinked. They are 
exceedingly keen in their analysis of the teacher's motives 
and shortcomings. 

These characteristic statements of the children can be 
used profitably as a mirror by all classes of teachers, and 
are presented for that purpose. 

"She could stand some fun." 

The hearty laugh with the children in the school-room 
when something amusing comes up in a legitimate way, 
is a wholesome tonic and to be taken freely. The be- 
ginning of many an antagonism has thus been swept 
away by the wave of innocent laughter, which submerged 
in it pupils and teacher alike. The dignity which fears 
being compromised under such circumstances needs 
shocking, if not shattering. It certainly needs recon- 
structing." 

"The children feel as if she was one of them." 

Here is evidence of that companionable feeling between 
teachers and pupils, which so deeply impressed the mem- 
bers of the Mosely Commission in their recent investiga- 
tions of our educational institutions, and which is one of 
the crowning merits of our educational work. To estab- 
lish such relations of common interest and sympathy 
between teachers and pupils is to open the way for effec- 
tive teaching and the right building of character. 

"She always got our attention." 

That even the children recognize the ability to secure 
their attention, as one of the characteristics of the best 
teacher is a little surprising, particularly when it is re- 



56 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

called that some teachers have failed to reach the same 
conclusion, or lack the ability to secure attention. In- 
attention renders futile the most skillful efforts in instruc- 
tion. Failure to secure attention is responsible for the 
greatest waste in the school-room. 

"The principal reason I liked her for was because she 
hked me and showed it once in a while." 

The cold, unsympathetic teacher fails to arouse the 
best in the child. If the emotional life be stirred by such 
a teacher, it rather takes on the form of antagonism 
towards the one who fails to manifest those sympathetic, 
companionable qualities which the child has a right to 
expect. In the mind and heart of the child there is the 
feeling that the teacher is in the place of the parent, and 
in loco parentis is not to them a cold legal phrase. 

"She was interested in her pupils' habits and readings." 

"She took a great deal of interest in us." 

Here again is shown their appreciation of the warm 
personal side of the teacher. The teacher is expected 
to be interested in the progress of her pupils in the sub- 
jects of the course of study. That is in line with her 
work, her prescribed or official duties. But when she 
manifests a deep, personal interest in her pupils' habits, 
their home reading, and enters into their lives outside of 
school, they are convinced that such an interest rises 
above the official into the personal, and gathers its in- 
spiration from what they are and do. 

"She don't feel satisfied when her pupils don't have a 
good lesson." 

"If you did not get your lessons, she was so sorry that 
it made you ashamed." 

One of the characteristics of the best teacher that 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 57 

impressed itself on the minds of the pupils, was the 
strong desire that manifested itself that lessons should 
be thoroughly learned. Such thoroughness was to be 
attained, not so much by rigid disciphne and enforced 
study, as through personal appeals to their higher nature, 
in order to secure that voluntary effort which is much 
richer in its educative results than enforced effort. 

"She had no pets." 

The judicial attitude in the school-room is not incon- 
sistent with the sympathetic attitude, whatever may be 
said of them elsewhere. A teacher can be companion- 
able with all her pupils and still avoid having pets. Here 
is the best teacher without any pets. She has so wisely 
and fairly treated her pupils, without sacrificing her 
kindly spirit, that she is remembered as the best teacher. 

"She always thought before she spoke." 

"She always meant what she said." 

Inconsiderate speech in the school-room is one of the 
most fruitful causes of antagonisms and difficulties. 
The teacher who is guilty of thoughtlessness or rashness 
in speech, is constantly arousing unnecessary antagonism 
between herself and her pupils, as well as her patrons. 
Superintendents are more frequently called upon to ad- 
just difficulties between such teachers and their pupils 
or patrons, than from all other causes combined. Re- 
gard yourself as highly commended if your pupils say 
of you, "She always thought before she spoke." "She 
always meant what she said." 

"Her actions helped me to do better." 

This cannot be better illustrated than by the relation 
of the following incident : 

Charhe's mother had noticed that in a few short months, 



58 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

under the influence of his teacher, Miss Jones, he had 
become quite considerate of his conduct and his treat- 
ment of others. He dehghted in those kindly Httle at- 
tentions towards others which cost httle and yet mean 
so much. She asked him if Miss Jones had talked with 
him about politeness. He said very promptly and posi- 
tively, "No, mamma." 

"Well, why is it then that you are so much more polite 
than you used to be?" 

"Why," Charlie replied, "Miss Jones doesn't say any- 
thing to us about being polite, but when we are in her 
room, we just can't help feeling and being polite." 

Fortunate pupils to have such an atmosphere of service 
emanating from the teacher and stimulating all to deeds 
of kindness and courtesy. Parents feel the greatest debt 
of gratitude toward the teacher who can regenerate the 
Charlies after the manner of Miss Jones. 

"She made things pleasant, so I felt like working." 

"Her manner seemed to give me inspiration to work." 

Here again is shown the sensitiveness of the children 
to the atmosphere of the room, how deeply they appreci- 
ate it and how ready they are to respond to it. When 
we recall that it is self-activity alone that induces growth, 
that educates, it makes clear that an inspiring, working 
atmosphere in the school- room is a matter of supreme 
importance. 

"She put us on our honor." 

It is encouraging to note that the very attitude of 
trust on the part of the teacher, the attitude that ought 
to prove most stimulating and helpful to the pupils them- 
selves, is regarded by tliem as one of the characteristics 
that go to make up the best teacher. 



IN THE SCmiOr.-ROO.\[ 59 

"She never flew off the handle." 

Inconsiderate, hasty action is even worse than in- 
considerate, hasty speech, because "Actions speak louder 
than words." The consequences of hasty action arc 
more disastrous. Hasty punishment is usually accom- 
panied by an irritated condition of mind, which gives to 
the punishment an appearance of gratifying personal 
vengeance. The characteristic of the best teacher thus 
negatively described in "She never flew off the handle," 
might be set forth as level-headed, well-poised or self- 
controlled. Here also the children have indicated a 
very important characteristic of the best teacher. 

"She never punished the children because she didn't 
feel good." 

They evidently thought they had suffered unjustly on 
account of the poor health of some teacher. Such in- 
justice has been at times committed, but how did they 
find it out? 

"She did not scold us one time and then be awful good 
for a while." 

And yet the teacher, who thought to even up in the 
above manner, didn't dream that her pupils were reading 
her motives as easily as they would read a book. 

The following is a typical description of the best teacher, 
in the prescribed half dozen sentences, given by a sixtli 
grade pupil: 

"1 had a lovely teacher. She was kind, thoughtful 
and gentle, and helped you whenever she thought you 
needed it, if you asked her politely. She had a large 
heart, although she was small, and a good deal larger 
heart than some people twice her size." 

Another sixth grade pupil wrote: 



6o STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

"She always tried to make the room look neat, and 
tried to make it as pleasant as possible. When I first 
started, I could not bear language, and now I think it 
is one of the best studies. She was very reasonable. I 
always hated to go to school, but when I came in that 
room I was not out one day in the whole year. Every 
pupil in the room knew by her actions what she wanted 
us^ to do." 

This raises a very serious question as to the teacher's 
responsibility, in arousing or fostering strong dislikes in 
pupils against school studies, and even against the entire 
school. How far are teachers responsible for those fre- 
quent dislikes of pupils to certain studies, which stand 
as a barrier to thorough work and finally result in driving 
them out of school? Is it not evident that teachers must 
share some of the responsibihty for truancy? 

The following description is from an eighth grade 
pupil : 

"The best teacher I ever had was kind and gentle, 
and had a beautiful character, but was not at all 'soft.' 
She could change her disposition at a moment's notice, 
if circumstances required it. But not quite strict enough. 
She acted on her pupils' honor, and therefore procured 
better results than, I think, if she had kept her eye on them 
all the time. And one good thing about her was that 
she did not make any 'foolish,' 'silly' rules that were 
unnecessary, but the ones she made the children most 
always lived up to." 

The teacher who cannot iind some helpful hints in 
the naive statements of the children c{uoted above, is 
open to the suspicion that she either lacks in alertness, or 
is a hopeless paragon of perfection. 



CHAPTER VI 

MONEY SENSE IN CHILDREN 

The Mothers' Child Study Club of Sioux City re- 
quested the writer to prepare a paper for that body on 
"Money Sense in Children." Beheving that a helpful 
method of securing such information would be to let the 
children speak for themselves, rather than to theorize 
about it, the following suggestions and questions were 
prepared. 

All grade teachers from third grade to high school 
are requested to place on their blackboards, without 
comment, the following questions as a language exercise. 
Each pupil is requested to write his name, building, 
age and grade at top of paper. Papers are to be collected 
as soon as written, examined by the teacher as a language 
lesson, and later sent to the superintendent's office. 

1. What is money. 

2. Do you want to earn money? Why? 

3. How old were you when you first wanted money? 

4. Do your parents each week or month give you money 
to use? 

5. If you had five dollars, what would you do with 
them? 

Replies were received from two thousand seven hundred 
six pupils, ranging in grades from third to high school. 
The average age of pupils in third grade is about nine, 
while those of eighth grade is about fourteen. Tlic fol- 



STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 



lowing is a tabular view of the replies received in response 
to the question: 

What is Money? 







Eighth 


Seventh 


Sixth 


Fifth 


Fourth 


Third 


Total 


NO. 


% 


NO. 


% 


NO. 


% 


NO. 


% 


NO. 


% 


NO. 


% 


NO. 


% 1 


Coin, silver, gold, 
currency, etc. 




28 


26.9 


■S'^ 


39-9 


88 


43-1 


137 


.S7-0 


217 


76.4 


242 


72.2 


767 


ss.s 


^6 


2S.O 


48 


28.4 


04 


44-'; 


147 


SO. 3 


221 


74.0 


217 


08.3 


7O1 


54-4 


( T 


64 


2S.8 


104 


33-7 


182 


43-9 


284 


S6.8 


438 


7,S-i 


4 so 


70.2 


IS30 


SC"; 


A medium of ex- 


1" 


74 


71. 1 


So 


'^a.o 


III 


S4.4 


oo 


40.2 


40 


17-^ 


70 


2S.0 


4»0 


37-5 


change, Standard 


N 


io6 


7,V6 


110 


70.4 


100 


SI. 7 


107 


41.0 


08 


22.7 


80 


27-0 


5q8 


42.5 


of value, etc. 


( r 


i8o 


72.6 


IQO 


64.8 


2 20 


S3-1 


203 


40.6 


117 


20.1 


168 


2S-8 


10S7 


40.2 




1^ 


2 


2.0 


2 


1-4 


2 


I.O 


I 


-S 


S 


1.8 


6 


1.8 


18 


1-3 


No answer 


V 


2 


1-4 


I 


.6 


3 


1.4 


2 


.8 


5 


1-7 


3 


1.0 


16 


I.I 




( i 


4 


1.6 




■9 


5 


1.2 


3 


.6 


10 


1.7 





1.4 


34 


1-3 


Useful, valuable, 


1 B 










2 


1.0 


4 


1. 8 


7 


1-5 


6 


1.8 


19 


i-S 










precious 


\ ei 

f T 








.6 

■3 


4 
6 


1.9 
1.4 

.5 


2 

6 


.8 


2 

9 
6 


.6 
I 6 


7 
13 


2.2 


16 

35 

8 


1 .2 

1-3 

.6 








(R 










I 




2. 1 




Wealth, material 


k 














3 

4 


1 .1 

S 


2 
,S 


-7 
1-3 






5 
13 


•9 

•S 




















(« 




















6 


Round 


k 






















2 

4 


.6 
6 


2 
4 


























(B 








-7 


















Root of all evil 


1? 










•5 






I 


-3 






2 

3 

1304 










■3 




(" 


104 




138 


204 




239 




284 




335 






Total 


V 


144 




i6q 




21 J 




2O1 




2QQ 




318 




1402 






(1 


248 




307 




41S 




500 




553 




053 




2706 





It is not anticipated that the lower grade children 
could give an adequate answer to the question, "What is 
money?" It was believed, however, that such crude 
answers as they could give would be interesting and also 
suggestive as to the vagueness of children's ideas, even 
in the realm of what, in the adult mind, is familiar. 

Their answers do not indicate as much vagueness 
among the lower grades as was anticipated. It can be 
assumed that the average boy and girl of Sioux City is 
fairly well acquainted with the term money, as over 
ninety-six per cent of them detine the term intelligently. 
The lower grades naturally gave prominence to the more 
suixM-fjcial definition that money is coin, currency, etc., 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROO^r 63 

Avhile the older and more thoughtful i)upils consider the 
purposes or uses of money, and prefer to define money 
as the medium of exchange, the standard of value, etc. 
Here, in the first definition, is illustrated the lowest stage 
of thinking, that which is nearest allied to sense per- 
ception; coin and currency are readily seen and felt, 
while in the second definition the second stage of think- 
ing is. manifested, that which regards and seeks out 
relations, purposes, rather than sense perceptions, as in 
the "medium of exchange.' 

The remaining answers, since they represent such a 
slight per cent of the whole, have no particular signifi- 
cance, and are only interesting because peculiar. A few 
of the third grade pupils, instead of naming coins, give 
only one prominent quality of a coin, and define money 
as something round. A few pupils evidently borrow 
their ideas of money from a faulty recollection of an 
old saying, and make money, instead of the love of money, 
"the root of all evil." 

Do You Want to Earn Money? 

In reply to the second question, "Do you want to earn 
money?" only sixty-four out of two thousand seven 
hundred six, or an average of about two and one-half 
per cent, answer in the negative. The girls, as would 
be anticipated from their surroundings and training, 
do not manifest this desire quite as strongly as the boys, 
although only falling behind the boys about one per cent. 
When nearly ninety-eight per cent of both boys and 
girls in our public schools want to earn money, there 
is not much danger that the commercial instinct will soon 
die out. Some questions might be raised, on the other 



64 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

hand, whether as a people, we are not too much domi- 
nated by the commercial spirit. While we resent the 
inelegant yet forcible statement of John Stuart Mill, 
concerning the dominance of this commercial spirit 
among us, when he says, "In America the hfe of the 
whole of our sex is devoted to dollar hunting, and of the 
other sex to raising dollar hunters," yet candor compels 
us reluctantly to admit that our conduct gives, at-times, 
evidence that we are too much dominated by the mer- 
cenary spirit. 

Every close student of our schools cannot fail to have 
discovered that a large number of pupils, attracted or 
led by this universal desire to earn money, leave the 
schools at an early age, long before they have secured a 
fair education. The schools are often severely criticised 
as lacking in proper management, because they fail to 
hold their pupils, particularly in cases where there is 
no necessity for such pupils to earn money. It is said 
the schools are not made attractive or helpful enough, 
or there are too few men engaged in the work of teaching 
to keep the boys in school. There may be some ground 
for criticism here, but it should not be forgotten that 
everywhere outside of school the commercial spirit is 
constantly being developed and vigorously fostered, and 
in that Hes the chief reason for this desertion of school 
for shop and store. 

But little stress should be placed upon this large per cent 
who wish to earn money. It does not necessarily indicate 
any deep settled desire to earn money to answer "Yes" to 
the simple question, "Do you want to earn money?" 

The reasons assigned for wishing to earn money are 
somewhat varied, but they are all classed as follows: 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 



6^ 



Why Do 


You Wish 


TO 


Earn 


Money 


? 










Eighth 


Seventh 


Sixth 


Fifth 


Fourth 


Third 


Total 


NO. 


% 


NO. 


% 


NO. 


% 


NO. 


% 


NO. 


% 


NO. 


% 


NO. 


% 




{^ 


48 


45-0 


46 


33-3 


76 


37-2 


49 


20.5 


117 


41-3 


25 


7-4 


361 


27.7 


To be independent 


s 


80 


55 -S 


S5 


32.6 


109 


51-6 


53 


20.3 


117 


39 


I 


22 


6.9 


436 


31-1 




(T 


128 


51-6 


lOI 


33-0 


IS5 


44-5 


102 


20.4 


234 


40 


4 


47 


7.2 


797 


29-5 


To spend in useful 


[^ 


5 


4-9 


18 


13.0 


22 


10.8 


77 


32.2 


43 


15 


2 


130 


38.8 


205 


22.6 


ways, To lielp 


s 


9 


6.3 


26 


15-4 


42 


20.0 


77 


29-5 


61 


20 


5 


139 


43-8 


354 


25.2 


the poor, etc. 


(T 


14 


5-6 


44 


14-3 


64 


15-4 


154 


30.8 


104 


17 


8 


269 


41.1 


649 


24.0 




(B 


20 


19.2 


41 


29.8 


56 


27.4 


44 


18.4 


60 


21 


I 


59 


17.6 


280 


21-5 


To spend 


G 


13 


9.0 


21 


12.4 


31 


14-7 


57 


21.8 


62 


20 


7 


65 


20.4 


249 


I7-8 




(T 


3,S 


13-3 


62 


20.2 


87 


21.0 


lOI 


20.2 


122 


20 


9 


124 


19.0 


529 


10-6 




(B 


7 


6.7 


14 


10.2 


6 


3-0 


15 


6.5 


24 


8 


5 


56 


16.7 


122 


9-4 


No answer 


\G 


20 


13-0 


22 


I3-0 


4 


1-9 


19 


7-3 


16 


5 


3 


48 


I5-I 


129 


9-2 




(t 


27 


II-O 


36 


II. 7 


10 


2-3 


34 


6.8 


40 


6 


8 


104 


15-9 


251 


o-i 




(^ 


9 


8.6 


8 


S-8 


25 


12.2 


17 


7-1 


13 


4 


5 


IS 


4-5 


87 


0-7 


To save 


]^ 


7 


4.8 


T5 


8.9 


7 


3-3 


24 


9-2 


15 


5 





8 


2.6 


76 


5-4 




(T 


16 


6.5 


23 


7-5 


32 


7-7 


41 


8.2 


28 


4 


6 


23 


3-5 


163 


6.1 


To spend on 
luxuries 


II 


4 
3 


4.0 
2.1 


6 
13 


4-3 
7-7 


9 

2 


4-4 
-9 


16 
3 


6.5 
1.2 


II 
10 


3 
3 


8 
3 


27 
16 


8.1 
S-o 


73 
47 


5-6 
3-4 


f T 


7 


2.8 


19 


6.1 


11 


2.6 


19 


3-8 


21 


3 


5 


43 


6.6 


120 


4-4 




{^ 


3 


2.9 


2 


i-S 


5 


2.0 


II 


4.6 


6 


2 


I 


7 


2.1 


34 


2.6 


To help parents 


^ 


I 


-7 


6 


3-5 


5 


2.4 


18 


6.9 


13 


4 


4 


7 


2.2 


SO 


3-6 




(t 


4 


1.6 


8 


2-7 


10 


2-S 


29 


5-8 


19 


3 


3 


14 


2.1 


84 


3-1 




\^ 


3 


2.9 


I 


-7 


I 


-5 


6 


2-5 


5 


I 


7 


IS 


4-S 


31 


2-4 


To he rich 


\ G 










3 
4 


1-4 

I.O 


4 
10 


1-5 

2.0 


2 




7 
2 


8 


2-S 

3-4 


17 

48 


I - 2 




(t 


3 


1 .2 


I 


•3 


7 


I 


23 


1.8 


To get an edu- 


C" 


2 


1.9 






2 


1.0 


3 


1.2 


3 


I 





I 


■3 


II 


.8 


cation 


!S 


8 


5-6 


9 


5-3 


4 


1-9 


6 


2.3 


2 




7 






29 


2.0 




(T 


10 


4.0 


9 


3-0 


6 


i-S 


9 


1.8 


5 




9 


I 


-2 


40 


I-S 


Get it without 


( ^ 


3 


3-0 


2 


1-4 


2 


1 .0 


I 


-5 


2 




8 






10 


-7 






earning it 


(T 


3 
6 


2. 1 
2.4 


2 
4 


1.2 
1.2 


4 
6 


1.9 

I-S 






I 
3 




3 
6 


5 
5 


I-S 
1.0 


IS 

25 


l-i 
-9 


I 


.2 




{^ 


104 




138 




204 




239 




284 






335 




1304 




Total 


r^ 


144 




169 




211 




261 




299 






318 




1402 






(T 


248 




307 




41S 




500 




583 






653 




2706 





Nearly one-third of the pupils want to earn money so 
that they may be independent. As was anticipated, 
this desire to be independent manifests itself least in the 
lower grades, where about seven per cent desire it, while 
in the higher grades over fifty per cent are influenced 
by it. These answers disclose that it is not generally 
a desire to be free from parental control that impels 
them to seek this independence, but rather to escape a 
condition of dependence upon parents or others, and 
early reach the self-supporting stage. Such answers as 
the following are characteristic: "I will not alwavs have 



66 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

my parents to help me. I will have to help them some 
time." "I would like to earn money, so as to some day 
go into business for myself." "I may have to earn money 
some day, then I will know how." "I like to buy things 
with my own money." "So I could say I earned it 
myself." 

About one-fourth of the entire number want to earn 
money in order that it may be spent in such useful ways 
as buying food, clothing, necessities of life, doing good 
to others, helping the poor, etc. To this large class, 
whose motives for earning money are highly commend- 
able, should be added those who wish to earn in order 
to help their parents, those who wish to get an education, 
and those who simply say they want to save. Under, 
therefore, the two heads, to spend in useful ways and to 
save, another third of the entire number are classed. 

The one-fifth that desire money in order to spend it, 
do not reveal whether it is desired to spend for useful 
or useless purposes, and we cannot therefore assign these 
to the class having worthy or unworthy motives. These, 
with those who give no answer, must be classed under 
unclassified motives. 

There is left, then, about one-fourteenth of the entire 
number, whose motives for earning money are crudely 
classed as unworthy, such as "to spend in luxuries," "to 
be rich," etc. 

An approximate classification, therefore, is as follows: 

Worthy motives for earning money — "to be indepen- 
dent," "to spend in useful ways," "to save," etc, 64.2 
per cent. 

Undefined motives for earning money — "to spend," 
"no answer." 28.7 per cent. 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 67 

Unworthy motives for earning money — "to spend in 
luxuries," "to be rich," etc. 7.1 per cent. 

Recognizing with what deep soHcitation parents are 
on the watch for evidences from their children that they 
are appreciative of parental care, and stand ready, should 
opportunity offer, or occasion require, to requite them 
for their many sacrifices, it was deemed desirable to 
separate from the general class, "to spend in useful ways," 
those who seek "to help parents." About three per cent 
of them have this thought uppermost in their minds. 
It is not fair to assume, however, that our children are 
therefore devoid of piety or filial affection. The numer- 
ous instances of filial devotion prove the contrary. Rather 
let the failure to single out this reason for earning money 
be attributed to the fact that, to the- average child, father 
and mother's strength and self-reliance have been so 
often demonstrated that the thought of their dependence 
does not suggest itself. 

It will not escape the sharp eyes of the fair sex that 
in nearly every class, under what may be termed worthy 
motives for earning money, the girls lead the boys, and 
in the aggregate, under worthy motives, they lead by 
almost six per cent. This only confirms what is gener- 
ally conceded, that the fair sex, even in youth, has a 
keener sense of moral obligation and is actuated by nobler 
motives. 

The following answers are given in full, not because 
they are typical, but because they are unusual, and be- 
tray individual traits of character: "I like to carry it in 
my pocket." May this be called the miser instinct? 
"I'd rather earn money than run around." For a fourth 
grade pupil this sets forth too serious a view of Hfc. 



68 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

"When we die, if we have money put away, we will not 
have to depend on some one else to buy our coffin and 
ground to be buried in." This from a fifth grade girl, 
indicates seriousness verging on morbidness. x\n eighth 
grade girl naively says: "I want to earn money, if I 
don't have to work too hard for it." Like many others, 
she is after what an eighth grade boy would call a "soft 
job." Another eighth grade girl, who arouses the sus- 
picion that she regards herself as of superior clay, de- 
clares: "If it were necessary, I should like to earn money, 
but such as I am, I care nothing whatever for money." 
An eighth grade boy holds the rather doubtful view, 
"The more money I have, the more pleasure I have." 
Another, "I want to be rich, so I won't be a common 
laborer." He may find out later that even the lot of a 
common laborer is to be preferred to that of some rich 
men. A seventh grade girl boldly declares that she 
wants to earn money because "It is the chief thing for 
which people live." Unfortunately, the conduct of a 
large portion of the human race seems to justify her 
conclusion. 

The following is a tabulated statement of the answers 
to the cjuestion: 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 



69 



How Old were You When You First Wanted Money ? 






Eighth 


Seventh 


Sixth 


Fifth 


Fourth 


Third 


Total 


NO. 


% 


NO. 


% 


NO. % 


NO. 


% 
37-2 


NO. 

112 


% 
39-4 


NO 
III 


% 
33-2 


NO. 

450 


% 
34-5 


In third or fourth 


^ 


13 


12.4 


50 


36.3 


75 36-S 


80 


year 


§ 


27 


18.7 


46 


27.2 


60 


28.4 


68 


26.0 


81 


27.1 


OO 


30.2 


378 


27.0 




(T 


40 


16.2 


96 


31-3 


135 


32-S 


157 


31-4 


193 


33-0 


207 


31-7 


828 


30.6 


In fifth or sixth 


(B 


26 


25.0 


18 


13 -I 


37 


18. 1 


57 


23-7 


77 


27.1 


115 


34-3 


330 


25-3 


year 


{<"' 


22 


15-3 


31 


18.3 


48 


22.7 


69 


26.4 


99 


33-1 


126 


39-6 


395 


28.2 




(T 


48 


19-3 


49 


15-8 


85 


20.5 


126 


25-2 


176 


30.2 


241 


36-9 


725 


26.8 


Two years and 


(S 


9 


8.7 


24 


17.4 


29 


II. 2 


36 


15.0 


55 


19.4 


56 


16.6 


209 


16.0 


less 


r^ 


12 


8.3 


25 


14-7 


26 


12.4 


49 


18. 8 


57 


19.0 


48 


15-1 


217 


15-5 




f T 


21 


8.S 


49 


15-9 


55 


13.2 


85 


17.0 


1 12 


19.2 


104 


16.0 


426 


15-7 


From seventh to 


{^ 


22 


20.1 


12 


8.6 


20 


9.8 


24 


10. 


23 


8.1 


29 


8-7 


130 


10. 


tenth year 


K' 


17 


II. 9 


14 


8.4 


32 


IS- 2 


31 


II. 9 


35 


II. 8 


35 


II. 


164 


II. 7 




(T 


39 


15-7 


26 


8.7 


52 


12.6 


55 


II .0 


58 


10. 


64 


9-7 


294 


10.9 


Do not k now 




23 
31 


22.1 
21. 5 


13 
29 


9-5 
17. 1 


16 

24 


7.8 
II. 4 


19 
29 


7-9 
II . I 


6 
IS 


2.1 
S-o 


15 
12 


4-5 
3-8 


92 

140 


7-0 
10. 




(T 


54 


21.8 


42 


13-7 


40 


9.6 


48 


9.6 


21 


3-6 


27 


4-1 


232 


8.6 


Old enough to 


(S 




4-9 


II 


7-9 


15 


7-4 


7 


3-0 


3 


I.I 


2 


.6 


43 


3-3 


know what 


s 


20 


13-8 


13 


7-7 


10 


4-7 


8 


3-1 


4 


1-3 


I 


-3 


56 


4.0 


money was 


(T 


25 


10.4 


24 


7-8 


25 


6.0 


IS 


3-0 


7 


1.2 


3 


•5 


99 


3.6 




(B 


2 


1-9 


4 


2-9 


4 


2.0 


3 


1-5 


I 


• 4 






14 


I.I 


From eleventh to 


1g 


p 


6.3 


8 


4.8 


5 


2.4 


3 


1.2 










25 


1.7 


fifteenth year 


(T 


II 


4-4 


12 


3-^ 


9 


2. 2 


6 


.1-2 


I 


.2 






39 


1-4 




( 1-5 


3 


2.Q 


2 


1-4 


6 


2.9 


3 


1.2 


3 


1 .0 


5 


i-S 


22 


1.6 


No answer 


{ G 










3 
9 


1-4 
2.2 


3 
6 


I . I 


4 

7 


1.3 
1.2 






10 


•7 
1.2 




(T 


3 


1.2 


2 


'";6 


1.2 


5 


"'.h 


32 




[^ 


I 


1.0 


4 


2-9 


2 


I.O 


I 


-5 


2 


-7 


2 


.6 


12 


• 9 


Alwavs 


\ G 


5 
6 


3-5 

2-4 


2 


1 . 2 


2 


•9 

1.0 


I 


•4 
• 4 


2 


-7 
•7 






12 


.8 




It 


6 


2.0 


4 


2 


4 


2 


-3 


24 


.9 


Never 


So 


















2 


-7 

. 7 






2 

5 

7 


.2 

•4 
,3 


I 


. 7 


I 


'.6 


I 


. 5 












It 


I 


.4 


T 


-3 


1 


. 2 






4 


. 7 








(^ 


104 




138 


204 




239 




284 




335 




1304 




Total 


*-' 


144 




169 




211 




261 




299 




318 




1402 






(T 


248 




307 — 


415 




SCO 




583 




6S3 




2706 





The table shows that fifteen and seven-tenths per 
cent wanted money before they were three years old, 
and thirty and six-tenths per cent before they were five, 
or forty-si.x and three-tenths per cent wanted money 
before they were of school age. It is safe to claim that 
out of the classes, "Do not know," "Old enough to 
know wliat money was," and "Always," enough can be 
added to the forty-six and three-tenths per cent to make 
over fifty per cent, so that it is correct lo say that more 
than one-half of the children canvassed were less than 
five vears old when thcv first wanted inonev. .'Xbout 



70 



STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 



nine- tenths of them wanted money before they were ten 
years of age. It is not a wise deduction to conclude 
that children should be given money as soon as they 
want it. Parents wisely deny many of their imagined 
wants, because born only out of some passing fancy and 
not springing out of real need. But that this desire 
lays hold of the children so much earlier and in larger 
numbers than is commonly supposed, raises the ques- 
tion whether it might not be advisable to begin earlier 
to train what might be called the money sense in children. 

Training here does not mean fostering or stimulating 
this desire for money, since, possibly, our atmosphere 
has already too much of the commercial ozone in it, 
but curbing, controlling and directing it into safe chan- 
nels. To stimulate commercial precocity is likely to 
prove even more disastrous than in stimulating precocity 
in other directions. It must also be conceded that a 
feeling so general needs an outlet. Sitting on a safety 
valve does not commend itself as either a wise or safe 
policy. 

The following is a tabular statement of the answers 
given in response to the question: 

Do Your Parents, Each Week or Month, Give 
You Money to Use? 





(B 


Eighth 


Seventh 


Sixth 


Fifth 


Fourth 


Third 


Total 


NO. 

s8 


% |NO. 

36 -sl 63 


% 
49-3 


NO. % 

105 51-5 


NO. 

141 


% NO. 
59-0 196 


% 
69.0 


NO. % NO. % 
235 70-1 783 60.0 




Do 


]^ 


«o 


SS 


sl 90 


';3 


3 


127 60 


2 


166 


63.6 211 


70.6 


233'73-3 90764 


7 




It 


ii8 


47 


6is8 


SI 


S 


232,55 


9 


307 


61.4 407 


09.8 


468 71.6 1690 62 


5 




(^ 


66 


6^ 


s 70 


so 


7 


9948 


S 


98 


41.0 88 


31-0 


100 29.9 521 40 





Do not 


^^ 


64 


44 


5 79 


46 


7 


84 39 


8 


95 


36.4' 88 


29.4 


8526.7 495 35 


3 




/t 


1,^0 


•^2 


4 149 


48 


S 


183 44 


I 


193 


38.6 176 


30.2 


185 28.4 1016 37 


5 




(^ 


104 




. ^^s 






204' . . 




239 


.... 284 




335 


1I304 -■ 




Total 


^' 


144 




. 169 






211!. . 




261 


299 




318 


1402 . . 






T 


248 




- 307 






41s'.. 


_L 


500 


.... 583 




653 2706I.. 


_L 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 71 

Some misgivings were felt as to the wisdom of asking, 
"Do your parents, each week or month, give you money 
to use?" We wished to avoid suggesting the thought 
to those who were not receiving allowances, that their 
parents were neglecting them, or that they were in any 
wise entitled to receive such allowance. But our desire 
to learn how far parents were attempting to train their 
children in the use of money overcame the misgivings, 
and the question was given a place on the list. 

Sixty-two and five-tenths per cent of Sioux City school 
children are given money to use. Presumably, two- 
thirds of Sioux City parents deem it wise to give money 
to their children to use. How far the remaining one- 
third of the parents, who do not give money to their 
children to use, are prevented from giving by lack of 
means, or deem it best for the children's interests to 
withhold, this investigation does not disclose. It would 
prove quite suggestive, if the facts were set forth, as to 
how many parents, either in giving or withholding, are 
actuated by the intelligent desire to train wisely this 
money sense in their children. Some inferences that 
can be read between the lines suggest that the giving 
in many instances is actuated more by the desire to 
please the children than in the desire to train them in 
the value and use of money, and to form right habits 
of economy and thrift. 

The fact that there is a gradual decrease from third 
grade to eighth in the per cent of those who give (start- 
ing at seventy one and six-tenths per cent in third grade, 
and ending at forty-seven and six-tenths per cent in 
eighth grade), is open, at least, to two interpretations: 
It mav be due simply to the desire of indulging the younger 



72 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

children, because of their dependent conditions, or to the 
thought that the older pupils, since they have some earn- 
ing power, should be thrown more upon their own re- 
sources. The more rapid decrease among the boys, 
from seventy and one-tenth per cent in third grade to 
thirty-six and five-tenths per cent in eighth grade, while 
the girls range in corresponding grades from seventy- 
three and three-tenths per cent to fifty-five and five- 
tenths per cent, indicates that giving by parents is with- 
held somewhat in proportion as earning power, or op- 
portunity to earn, is increased in the children. 

How Use the Five Dollars? 

The responses to the question, "If you had five dollars 
what would you do with them?" are not easily tabu- 
lated, but follow quite closely the channels of expendi- 
ture, which were indicated in the rcphes given to "Why 
do you wish to earn money?" About two-fifths of them 
wish to spend the five dollars for food, clothing or 
some useful article. Three-tenths quickly decide that 
they will not spend any of them, but save all for future 
use. One-twentieth just as promptly decides to spend 
what was given to them, thus affording another illustra- 
tion of "Come easy, go easy." Another twentieth, actu- 
ated by wiser motives, decides to hand over the five dollars 
to their parents. Quite a notable sprinlding of them 
decide to help the poor, while others, not quite so phil- 
anthropic, compromise the egoistic and altruistic spirit, 
which struggled within them for the mastery, by deciding 
to spend part for their own pleasure and give the balance 
to the poor. 

The remainder of the responses are so scattered as 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 73 

to give only glimpses of individual peculiarities, such 
as: "Give to the Babies' Home." "Give to the church." 
"Give three dollars to the Lord and save the rest." 
"Let parents decide." "Would think I was rich." 
"Join the Golf Club." "Have a good time." "Put 
them in my pocket." 

There is abundant evidence in the answers that, in 
all the grades, there is need of wiser training in refer- 
ence to the proper use of money. But the greatest lack 
of training is manifest in a proper appreciation of values, 
or what the five dollars ought to buy. This is true, 
not only in the lower, but also in the higher grades. A 
third grade boy intends to buy a cow with his five dol- 
lars; another to pay the house rent. A fourth grade 
girl says, "I would rather buy myself a pair of shoes, 
and my baby sister a cup and saucer, and a rocking 
horse, and a rubber doll, and other things." Another, 
"Would buy my cousin, mother, father, and brother a 
present, and me some shoes and stockings, necktie, 
collar, cuffs, and a nice silk flag for the school." Still 
another, "Would put the five dollars in the bank till I 
had enough to go to Paris." A fifth grade boy, "Would 
buy two sheep, a hog or an Indian pony." A girl of 
same grade, "Would buy grandma some coal for the 
winter." A seventh grade boy, "Would -invest the five 
dollars in a hog or cow," while another, "Would buy a 
bucket of oysters.' 

Quite a number of boys manifest the business instinct 
in planning to invest their five dollars in a little pig or 
calf, which, as it grows up, may bring them a large per 
cent of increase. These, of course, will become the 
future cattle kings of Sioux City. In striking contrast 



74 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

to this thrifty spirit, there are others who "Would blow 
it all on myself and mother," or "Would buy a pair of 
shoes and go to shows." These, just as surely, will 
become the future bankrupts of Sioux City, or worse still, 
be unable to provide for themselves and their children 
even the shoes to go to shows. 

Conclusions 

This investigation seems to justify the following gen- 
eral conclusions concerning Sioux City children between 
the ages of nine and fourteen: 

1. That over ninety-six per cent of them are fairly 
well acquainted with the term money. 

2. That over ninety-seven per cent want to earn 
money. 

3. That about two-thirds Avant to earn money for 
worthy purposes, two-sevenths do not disclose their 
motives, and only one-fourteenth desire to earn money 
for unworthy purposes. 

4. That more than one-half had their first desire for 
money before they were five years of age, and nine- 
tenths before they were ten. 

5. That this early and almost universal desire for 
money demands thoughtful consideration and wise training. 

6. That nearly two-thirds are given money to use, 
but there are indications that not enough care is given to 
develop thrift and economy in the use of the money given. 

7. That a more accurate appreciation of values should 
be taught by both parents and teachers. 

8. That the commercial instinct among the children 
does not require stimulating, but curbing and directing 
into rio;ht channels. 



CHAPTER VII 

CHILDREN'S READING 

The schools of to-day which are proving themselves 
most efficient in training up good citizens, are those 
which are studying conditions outside of the school- 
room and are shaping instruction and training, so as to 
prepare the pupils for active participation in the world's 
work, ' They are also studying conditions and influences 
outside of the school-room, in order to improve them 
and overcome, as far as possible, those that are adverse 
to the children's best development. 

Observing teachers have learned that the books read 
outside of school often exercise a more powerful influence 
in the moulding and building of character than those 
studied in school. Too frequently the teacher is con- 
fronted with the sad fact that the reading of trashy 
stories, stories presenting low and unworthy motives and 
ideals, is neutralizing all efforts on her part to build up 
right habits and worthy conduct. 

Recognizing the duty and privilege of the school to 
reach outside of the school-room, and try to shape the 
reading of the pupils, the following communication was 
sent out from the superintendent's office: 

In this age of books, children will read. They will 
read either that which is helpful and uplifting, or harm- 
ful and demorahzing. Unless aided by those of maturer 
and wiser judgment, they will read cither kind with about 

75 



76 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

the same avidity. Under these conditions, teachers must 
interest themselves in the best reading for boys and girls, 
so that they may wisely direct the reading of their pupils. 
The first plain duty is that each teacher acquaints her- 
self with the reading in which her pupils are indulging. 
It was believed that the best way to secure this neces- 
sary information was to present the matter, in the form 
of a language exercise, to grades above the third, and 
without disclosing that there was a deeper purpose in- 
volved. The following questions were used: 

Questions for a Language Exercise 

1. What books or stories have you read, or have been 
read to you this school year? 

2. Which did you like best ? Why? 

3. What papers and magazines do you read regu- 
larly ? 

4. Which do you like best? Why? 

5. If you had money to buy a book, what book would 
you buy? 

Further suggestions were given to make out a summary 
of the answers given and to forward the same to the 
superintendent's office. When needed, try to direct read- 
ing into more wholesome and uplifting channels. Much 
can be done to stimulate the reading of good books, by 
calling attention to those books which are most interest- 
ing and helpful, as well as reading an occasional choice 
selection to the school. Each teacher should be thor- 
oughly familiar with the books which are best suited to 
the children of her grade. 

Attention was also called to an article in the December 
(1903) number of the Revieiv 0} Reviews, entitled, "Some 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 77 

Things a Boy of Seventeen Should Have Had an Oppor- 
tunity to Read," by H. L. Elmendorf. The following 
is a partial list of what he recommends: 

Begin with Scott's lullaby, "Oh, hush thee, my babie," 
Tennyson's "Sweet and Low," and Kingsley's "Water 
Babies," followed by Welsh's "A Book of Nursery 
Rhymes," and thus provide for his early years. For 
hero tales and legends, Hawthorne's "Wonder Book," 
and "Tanglewood Tales," or Kingsley's "The Heroes 
or Greek Fairy Tales; also Mabie's "Norse Stories Re- 
told," Litchfield's "The Nine Worlds," Lang, Leaf 
and Myers' Versions of the Iliad, Perry's "The Boys' 
Odyssey," Malory's "Morte d' Arthur," Tennyson's 
"Idylls of the King," and Lanier's "The Boy's King 
Arthur." 

In Bibhcal literature, Gilder's "The Bible for Chil- 
dren," and Moulton's "Bible Stories." 

In English classics, "Robinson Crusoe," "Gulhver's 
Travels," "The Swiss Family Robinson," "Pilgrim's 
Progress," Lanier's "The Boys' Froissart," Pyle's "Men 
of Iron," Yonge's "Lances of Lynwood," Doyle's "White 
Company," Scott's "Ivanhoe," and "Quentin Durward." 

Under poetry, Wiggin's "The Posy Ring" and "Golden 
Numbers," Repplier's "A Book of Famous Verse," Hen- 
ley's "Lyra Heroica," Longfellow's "Hiawatha," Mac- 
aulay's "Lays of Ancient Rome," Scott's "Lady of the 
Lake," "Marmion," and "The Lay of the Last Min- 
strel," Whittier's "Snow Bound," Longfellow's "Evan- 
geline," up to Milton and Dante. 

Under nature books, ^sop's "Fables," Kiphng's "Jun- 
gle Books," Morgan's "Animal Sketches," Ingei-soll's 
"Wild Life of Orchard and Field," Homiday's "Two 



78 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

Years in a Jungle," Du Chaillu's "World of the Great 
Forest," Harris' "Uncle Remus Tales," Chapman's 
"Bird Life," and Dugmore's "Nature and the Camera." 

In history, "Plutarch's Lives," Brock's "True Story 
of George Washington," Indian Stories by Drake, Hale 
and Gordon, Parkman's "Oregon Trail," Wister's 
"Grant," Schurtz's "Lincoln," Dana's "Lincoln and 
His Cabinet," with some of Fiske's, Motley's and Mac- 
aulay's works. 

If the writer were to recommend some things which 
a girl of seventeen should have had opportunity to read, 
the list would vary but little from the excellent one re- 
commended by Mr. Elmendorf for the boys. 

Not to lose sight of the special needs of the girls, atten- 
tion is called to some wise suggestions made by Professor 
Henry Van Dyke, of Princeton, concerning 

The Best Poetry for Girls 

"The best poems for children to read and enjoy, after 
the period of the rattle and the go-cart is passed, are 
not found in books produced for juvenile consumption. 
The richest and most rewarding compilations of poetry 
that can be put into the hands of young readers are such 
as Palgrave's ' Golden Treasury of Songs and Lyrics,' 
and Mrs. Kate Douglas Wiggin's Golden Numbers, 
which gather their material from the best books of all 
ages, hke Percy's 'Rehques,' and Milton's 'Minor Poems,' 
and .Wordsworth's 'Lyrical Ballads,' and Scott's 'Min- 
strelsy of the Border,' and Longfellow's 'Voices of the 
Night.' I remember well that the four poems which my 
children loved most when they were little were Shake- 
speare's ' Under the Greenwood Tree,' Wordsworth's ' Lucy 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 79 

Gray,' and 'A March Morning,' and Longfellow's 'The 
Wreck of the Schooner Hesperus.' It is as easy to like 
good things as it is to like poor stuff. The young idea 
may be trained to shoot on a fair trellis of excellent pro- 
portions as quickly and as happily as on a cheap and 
ugly cast-iron fence. . . . 

"She might well begin with carefully made volumes of 
selections giving the very best of certain poets — of Scott, 
of Wordsworth, of Shelley, of Tennyson, of Browning. 
Among these she would probably have a favorite, and 
she would go on to read all that he had written. Or 
perhaps she would begin with Whittier's "Snow Bound,' 
or Longfellow's 'Evangeline,' or Lowell's 'Vision of Sir 
Launfal,' or Emerson's 'May-Day'; and from this, 
should be dra"wn along to a real intimacy with the best 
works of all the American poets, . . . 

"While I should be glad if this girl of mine had a 
favorite poet, I should try to put her on her guard against 
being exclusive in her partiality. I should like her to 
turn back to the beginnings of Enghsh poetry and learn 
to know the vigor and freshness of old Chaucer's tales, 
the opulence of Spenser's verse, the many-sided splendor 
and wisdom of Shakespeare, the lyric perfection and 
the epic grandeur of Milton, the sinewy strength of Dry- 
den, the clear, cold brilliancy of Pope, the warm human- 
ity of Burns, the pensive sadness of Gray, the gentle 
familiarity of Cowper, the force of Byron, the rich beauty 
of the ever-youthful Keats. Then she should turn to the 
poetry of other ages and lands and read — in the original 
if she could, but if not, then in the best translations — 
Homer and Vergil and Horace and Goethe and Schiller and 
Corneille and Dante and Racine and Victor Hugo. . . . 



8o STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

"All the time, in her reading of poetry, she should 
remember that the first object is to get pleasure out of 
it; not mere sensual pleasure, but imaginative, creative, 
spiritual pleasure, which has in itself a life-giving and 
elevating and enlarging power. What Wordsworth says 
should come trvie for her: 

" 'And vital feeling of delight 

Should rear her form to stateher height, 
Her virgin bosom swell.' 

"She should grow to understand that pleasure, after 
all, is one of the deepest and most subtle tests of char- 
acter; and that if one desires to be noble one must learn 
how to like and enjoy noble things. Poetry should not 
unfit her for real life by leading her into a world of opiate 
visions; but rather it should reveal to her the hidden 
significance of the world, and fit her for real life by giving 
her thoughts and hopes and ideals which would bring a 
deeper purpose into her work, a richer meaning into her 
dreams, a sweeter comfort into her companionship, and 
a glory into her love." 

Reading in Fourth Grade 

In summarizing the results of the investigation of the 
reading of fourth grade pupils, as well as those of other 
grades, the danger of too broad generalizations is recog- 
nized, and little is attempted in that direction. 

The number of books and stories read in four months 
by' about six hundred fourth grade pupils amounted to 
three thousand six hundred fifty-five. This gives an 
average of about six books for each pupil for that period, 
or one and a half books or stories a month. As manv 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 8i 

of these books arc small and stories short, the average is 
not excessive, although when it is recalled that some of 
the six hundred have read scarcely nothing, it suggests 
the inquiry whether some have not read too much. 

We are all familiar with the fact that the pupil who 
does much home reading, ranks usually above the average 
of his class, and that the non-reading pupil usually lacks 
in ideas and fluency of speech. But there may be such 
voracious readers, so much time devoted to outside read- 
ing, that school work may be slighted in consequence. 
Surely the voracious as well as the non-reader needs 
careful attention. 

Books Read Most 

The following is a partial list of the books, showing the 
number of readers of each, arranged in numerical order: 



Robinson Crusoe 


117 


Little Men 


31 


Black Beauty 


102 


Alice in Wonderland 


31 


Birds' Christmas Carol 


lOI 


Seven Little Sisters 


30 


Longfellow's Poems 


82 


Boys of Seventy-Six 


30 


Wild Animals I Have Known 


75 


Life of Lincoln 


30 


Beautiful Joe 


71 


Uncle Tom's Cabin 


30 


Ruby and Ruthy 


57 


Life of Franklin 


30 


Bible Stories 


53 


History of United States 


29 


Hiawatha 


52 


Gods and Heroes 


28 


Aladdin's Lamp 


. 45 


Tom Thatcher's Fortune 


28 


The Little Clown 


43 


Two Little Savages 


28 


Water Babies 


42 


Eskimo Cousin 


26 


Emmy Lou 


40 


Puss in Boots 


25 


Whittier's Poems 


40 


Pilgrims and Puritans 


23 


Story of the Pilgrims 


40 


Little Lord Fauntleroy 


21 


Willis' Poems 


. 40 


Five Little Peppers 


15 


First Book of Birds 


38 


Fairy Tales 


^3 


Life of Columbus 


36 


Around the World 


12 


Wilderness Ways 


35 


Story of Troy 


12 


Bears of Blue River 


35 


Arabian Nights 


10 


/Esop's Fables 


35 


Swiss Family Robinson 


10 


Little Women 


32 


Sara Crewe 


10 



82 studies and observations 

Why Books Most Popular 
Naturally some of the preferences of these fourth 
grade children are based upon unimportant features, but 
often they show commendable discrimination. "Beauti- 
ful Joe," the book liked best, was given the preference 
because "Joe was good." "It told about animals." "It 
told so many things." "Black Beauty" because "It 
tells how horses act." "A horse can talk." One boy 
had a bad spell of excitement when he characterized it 
as "awfully excitabling." 

"Robinson Crusoe" was Hked "Because of the adven- 
tures." "Because it is so interesting and will teach me 
how to make things when I am alone." Here is an inter- 
esting and somewhat original characterization: "Because 
it is sorry." "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was much appreci- 
ated because it was true and sad. 

Books Liked Best 

Beautiful Joe i6 Tom Thatcher's Fortune ii 

Black Beauty 15 Robinson Crusoe 10 

Birds' Christmas Carol 15 Longfellow's Poems 10 

Bible Stories 12 Boys of Seventy -Six 10 

Bears of Blue River 12 Two Little Savages 10 

Popular Newspapers 

Evening News (local paper^i 1 1 5 Mining Journal 1 2 

Mining Gazette (local paper) 88 Ladies' Home Journal 11 

Youth's Companion 50 Collier's Weekly 10 

Chicago American 23 Saturday Evening Post 10 

The most popular lines of newspaper reading in fourth 
grades were as follows: 

Longfellow's Poems 31 Birds' Christmas Carol 13 

Robinson Crusoe 30 Beautiful Joe 12 

Black Beauty 30 Fairy Tales 12 

Bible 21 Bible Stories - 10 

Uncle Tom's Cabin 15 United States History 10 

Two Little Savages 14 Life of McKinley 10 



in the school-room 83 

Why Most Popular 
In regard to the daily press, the reasons assigned for 
preferences were largely along the lines of furnishing 
important news, the larger part of it of a local character. 
Some of the characteristic replies were: "You can find 
out everything nearly." "Tells about the troubles of 
the world." "Tells about stocks." "Tells about base- 
ball and hockey." One boy earnestly puts it: "Be's 
about the ball games." "Tells about dangerous things." 
"Has a page for boys and girls." "Has riddles and 
puzzles." "Lots of interesting things and lots of pic- 
tures." Several boys with a strong commercial bias 
prefer a certain paper because they peddle it. Quite a 
number say: "It tells things so that I can understand 
them." The saddest comment is the "following: "I don't 
read them, they ain't no good." Poor boy, he doesn't 
understand his need nor his loss. 

Books They Would Buy 



Biography of a Grizzly 


148 


Man without a Country 


24 


Wild Animals I Have Known 


114 


Burnham Breakers 


22 


Lives of the Hunted 


95 


Life of Washington 


22 


Teddy and Carrots 


86 


Jo's Boys 


18 


Uncle Tom's Cabin 


82 


Fairy Tales 


18 


Little Colonel 


80 


Birds' Christmas Carol 


17 


Black Beauty 


61 


Life of Rosa Bonheur 


16 


Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch 


56 


Under the Lilacs 


16 


Story of the Christ-Child 


56 


The Deerslayer 


15 


Melody 


48 


Boy's King Arthur 


14 


Little Women 


41 


Wonder Book 


14 


Little Men 


40 


Swiss Family Robmson 


13 


Eben Holden 


40 


Peck's Bad Boy 


13 


Story of Dago 


40 


Winning His Way 


13 


M argot 


40 


Bears of Blue River 


13 


Captain January 


40 


Life of Millet 


13 


Emmy Lou 


40 


Hans Brinker 


12 


Boys of Seventy-Six 


3S 


Pilgrim's Progress 


11 


Robinson Crusoe 


36 


Life of Lincoln 


11 


Ikautiful Jf)c 


35 


Treasure Island 


10 


Civil War 


30 


Story of West Point 


10 


Girls of Sevcnt}'-Six 


24 







84 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

The list of books, both in "Books Liked Best" and in 
"Books They Would Buy," is small because only books 
preferred by ten or more are mentioned, and because 
many failed to indicate their preferences. However, as 
far as indicated, their choices were generally excellent. 
That there may be some books liked and read whose 
titles do not appear and whose general tone is not so 
wholesome, is not improbable, but the encouraging fact 
still remains that the era of dime novels and nickel 
libraries is practically past. While the parents and the 
schools are to be congratulated over this encouraging 
advance, yet vigilance must not be relaxed in ferreting 
out the few trashy books which are still read. 

Reading in Fifth Grade 
The whole number of pupils whose reading was can- 
vassed in fifth grade was four hundred seventy-four. 
These read in the four months two thousand three hun- 
dred twenty-nine stories, or an average of nearly five read 
in that period. The books read most were as follows: 

Boys of Seventy-Six 14 Bears of Blue River 10 

Teddy and Carrots 10 Story of West Point 10 

Black Beauty 10 Two Little Savages 10 

Popular Newspapers 

Mining Gazette (local paper) 123 Saturday Evening Post 20 

Evening News (local paper) 108 Collier's Weekly 12 

Youth's Companion 57 Harper's Weekly 11 

Ladies' Home Journal 36 American Boy 11 

Chicago Record-Herald 23 Woman's World 10 

Chicago American 23 

Books Liked Best 

History of United States 18 Little Women 10 

Wild Animals I Have Known 17 Teddy and Carrots 10 

Robinson Crusoe u Black Beauty 10 

Uncle Tom's Cabin 11 Burnham Breakers 10 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 



85 



Books They Would Buy 



Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch 

David Copperlield 

Lives of the Hunted 

Winning His Way 

Wild Animals I Have Known 

Boys of 1812 

Levey Mary 



Zig-zag Journeys 

L^e of Lincoln 

Black Beauty 

Beautiful Joe 

Tom Brown's School Days 

Scarlet Tanager 

Boys of Seventy-Six 



Reading in Sixth Grade 
In sixth grade, three hundred fourteen pupils had read 
nine hundred thirty-nine books, or an average of three 
in the four months. The books most read were as 
follows : 

Books Liked Best 



Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch 
Black Beauty 
Beautitul Joe 



Wild Animals I Have Known 
Winning^His Way 
Lovey Mary 



Popular Newspapers and AIagazines 

Youth's Companion Munsey 

Ladies' Home Journal Mining Gazette 

Collier's Weekly Chicago American 

Harper's Monthly Evening News 

Books They Would Buy 



Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch 
Beautiful Joe 
Uncle Tom's Cabin 
Lovev Marv 



Wild Animals I Have Known 
Black Beauty. 
Swiss Family Robinson 
History of United States 



Reading in Seventh and Eighth Grades 

Birds' Christmas Carol 107 

Wild Animals I Have Known 95 

Mysterious Island 95 
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch 53 

Lady of the Lake 52 

A Tory Plot 52 

Boys of the Rincon Ranch 52 

Merchant of Venice 49 

Robinson Crusoe 47 

Stories of Long .\go 47 



A-Hunting of the Deer 
Lives of the Hunted 


47 

47 


Up from Slavery 
Uncle Sam's Secrets 


42 
42 


Yellowstone Park Series 


42 


Enoch Arden 


39 


Old Curiosity Shop 
Ivanhoe 


35 
30 


Great Stone Face 


-3 


Evangeline 


2 1 



i6 


Saturday Evening Post 


36 


96 


Collier's Weekly 


13 


85 


Success 


10 


44 


American Boy 


10 


38 


Woman's Home Companion 


10 



86 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

One hundred seventy-six seventh and eighth grade 
pupils had read two thousand one hundred forty-six 
books and stories, or an average of about twelve in the 
four months. The books most read were as follows: 

Books Liked Best 

Uncle Sam's Secrets Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch 

Up from Slavery Boys of the Rincon Ranch 

Mysterious Island Dickens' Works 

Popular Newspapers 

Week's Current 
Evening News (local) 
Mining Gazette (local) 
Ladies' Home Journal 
Youth's Companion 

Books They Would Buy 

Old Curiosity Shop Mysterious Island 

Merchant of Venice Wild Animals I Have Known 

Uncle Tom's Cabin Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch 

Why Books Were Most Popular 

In the upper grades the following were some of the 
characteristic reasons for liking certain books: 

"Beautiful Joe" was liked "Because it teaches us to 
be good to animals and also teaches us that they have 
souls as well as we have. The "Story of the Pilgrims" 
was popular because "They prayed lots and made Thanks- 
giving." "I hked the story of 'Little Lord Fauntleroy' 
best because Lord Fauntleroy was a brave loving boy 
and was always ready to help anybody." "I like 'Hans 
Brinker' best because it brings such clear pictures when 
you read it." "I hkc the 'Silver Medal' best because 
it is a good story for boys." "It teaches the bad boys 
to be good. And it seems as if it was you that is in the 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 87 

book." "I like the 'Cruise of the Canoe Club' because 
there is something in it that helps me." "I like the 
'Red Toy Shop' because the boys wanted to earn some 
money to help their father and mother pay the rent." 
"Little Sailor" was liked "Because it has noise in it." 

"I Hked 'Jolly Rover' because there was good and 
bad in it and it will teach many to stay at home and 
not run away as a fool." 

One boy seemed to see some of his own qualities por- 
trayed in "Rip Van Winkle" which led him to write, 
"Rip and I are lots alike." "OHver Twist" was appreci- 
ated "Because there's something to it." "Uncle Tom's 
Cabin" was preferred by one "Because it shows feeling 
and teaches us to love everybody . and always that we 
should be prompt and do what we say." Another, "Be- 
cause the author lets the one who was treated bad come 
out the best." 

Numerous were the expressions of appreciation of 
"Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch." Some of them 
ran as follows: "Because it seems more real than the 
other books." "Because they hvcd and got everything 
such queer ways." "Because Mrs. Wiggs who always 
had so much trouble was the jolliest." "Because Mrs. 
Wiggs was never selfish." "Because it teaches us a 
lesson of kindness and unselfishness." 

Some Results and Conclusions 

The foregoing investigation gave the teachers, and in 
some cases also the parents, a much better acquaintance 
with their children's reading, and the thoughts suggested 
in the minds of the children by their reading. It afforded 
ihem also one of Lhc best means of bccomins; better ac- 



88 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

quaint ed with the inner Hfe of their children, that ac- 
quaintance which opens up so many doors of oppor- 
tunity to the alert teacher for the building of right char- 
acter. 

It was an agreeable revelation that the children were 
so generally appreciative of and responsive to the whole- 
some and uplifting sentiments which characterized nearly 
all the books read, and that they were able to voice in 
some degree their appreciation. To fill and thrill a 
child's soul with the noble sentiments presented in some 
choice story, is to inaugurate a process of soul enlarge- 
ment, to which no limits can be set. It means much to 
arouse the finer, the nobler feehngs in the child, but it 
means still more when he becomes conscious of those 
nobler feelings, and can intelligently clothe them in 
appropriate language, or give them voice. 

On the other hand, the investigation also made clear 
that at least three lines of work should be continued by 
teachers and parents: To induce the few non-readers 
to take up some wholesome line of reading; to develop a 
more discriminating taste for the best literature; to re- 
strain a few from excessive and superficial reading. These 
lines of work, in all probability, are needed everywhere 
in the interests of better character building. 



CHAPTER VIII 

HOW MAY FATIGUE IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 

BE REDUCED TO THE MINIMUM? 

Mosso, an eminent authority on fatigue, states that he 
has made the difficuh ascent of Mt. Blanc several times, 
and observed the sublime scenery that greets the eye of 
the traveler, but that he can remember nothing of the 
magnificent view from the mountain's summit, because 
his fatigue so greatly lessened his mental ability. If a 
well-trained, mature mind like Mosso's fails to carry 
away lasting impressions from scenes so grand, so awe- 
inspiring, so profoundly impressive, so powerfully ap- 
pealing to the emotions as those gained from Mt. Blanc, 
because fatigue had laid its numbing hand upon his 
powers of observation and perception, what can the un- 
trained, immature mind of the child be expected to carry 
away from his usually dull routine of daily work in the 
school-room, when fatigue has laid its numbing hand 
upon his weak powers of observation and perception? 
Has not this same experience of Mosso's been paralleled 
in the instruction of even bright pupils, and teacher and 
pupils saddened and discouraged because, after carefully 
and laboriously climbing to the mountain top of some 
difficult topic, from which a glorious view could be caught, 
fatigue so dulled the powers of perception that practically 
nothing of permanent value was carried away? Such 



90 STUDIES AND OBSERV7\TIONS 

experiences are only too common, and, besides being 
depressing, leave the pupil in a discouraged frame of 
mind, with confidence in self shaken and with less desire 
to make the ascent again. 

May this not be the explanation, in part at least, why 
so many pupils lose interest in their school work, develop 
a positive distaste for it, fall behind in their work, and are 
classed with dullards, so-called? Surely, the normal 
mind of the child possesses as vigorous an appetite for 
mental pabulum as his stomach does for physical pabulum. 
Why do so many turn away from the cuisine of the school ? 
The fault lies, not in the nature of the child's mind, but 
in the way and in the time in which it is served. 

Cry of Overwork 

The cry of overwork in our schools is frequently heard. 
It is a matter of supreme moment whether or not our 
children are in danger of over-pressure. Fatigue is na- 
ture's kind warning against over-pressure and over-ex- 
ertion. We need constantly to be on the alert to discover 
whether or not the requirements of the school-room are 
too heavy, whether the hours of work are too many, 
whether the study periods are too long, whether the rest 
periods are too infrequent, whether any change can be 
made by which the maximum mental efficiency can be 
secured with a minimum expenditure of each child's 
energy. It should be constantly borne in mind that 
what a child accomplishes or masters depends not so 
much on how hard or how long he works as it does upon 
the fact that he is working at the maximum of his power. 
Ten minutes of concentrated, vigorous effort, when the 
mind is fresh, is worth ten times ten minutes of dawdling 



IN thp: school-room 91 

whether the dawdhng be caused by fatigue or laziness. 
Time is no measure of progress in the school-room. 

How Increase Mental Efficiency? 

Ribot says: "Fatigue in every shape is fatal to mem- 
ory." Every teacher, therefore, should be familiar with 
the indications of fatigue, with the conditions which 
most rapidly induce it, and with the means that may be 
employed to avoid, to reduce, or to overcome it, so that 
the maximum of effort may be attained by the minimum 
expenditure of energy. It is said that he who causes 
two blades of grass to spring up where only one was 
growing, is a public benefactor. But what shall we term 
him who points out how to increase mental efficiency? 
What honor shall we bestow upon him who can so direct 
us lliat wc can bring down with us the glorious views 
from the mountain top, rather than be baffled and lose 
our grip upon them through the benumbing effect of 
fatigue ? 

It was the writer's privilege, more than eight years 
ago, to state before the Department of Superintendence 
of the National Educational Association, that fatigue 
furnished "important indications, which, if carefully 
studied, will give the right ordering of the daily work 
of the school- room and secure the largest degree of men- 
tal efficiency with the least loss of the child's energy. 
This problem has not yet been fully worked out, and 
we should earnestly address ourselves to its solution." 
It may be said, after- the lapse of more than eight years, 
that this problem has not yet been fully worked out, 
although progress has been made. 



92 studies and observations 

Effects of Fatigue 

Dr. Hodge has demonstrated that brain-work exhausts 
the nerve cells, causing them to shrink, and that rest is 
needed for their recovery. Mosso concludes that such 
exhaustion is due, in great part, to the formation of 
toxic products through nervous and muscular action. 
These poisonous products distributed by the blood, 
chiefly induce fatigue. Severe and long-continued activ- 
ity leads to an accumulation of poisonous products in 
the blood. These cause acidity of the blood, which in 
turn lends a temporary acidity to the disposition. This 
irritability is one of the famihar signs of fatigue. Other 
indications are wandering, lusterless eyes, jaded expres- 
sion, asymmetry of position, twitching of muscles of 
the face and of lingers, weak balance of hand, abnormal 
color of skin, frequency of errors, and lack of the usual 
mental grasp. 

How Reduced? 

But how may fatigue in the school-room be reduced 
to the minimum? is the important question. We con- 
cede in our question that it cannot be entirely overcome; 
that we must reckon with it, and endeavor to reduce it 
to the minimum, where it will clog instruction as little 
as possible. 

This chapter cannot take up the subject of good health, 
nutritious foods, proper exercise, etc., although each of 
these contributes in no small degree to that fresh, vigor- 
ous condition of mind and body which is so essential 
for the attainment of the maximum of mental efficiency. 
Nor can it more than point out that much of inattention, 
that source of incalculable loss in the school-room, is 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 93 

often due to overeating, impoverishment, vitiated and 
ovirheated atmosphere, misfits in desks, and many other 
causes whose remedies are to some extent within the 
grasp of the teacher. 

More Frequent Rest Periods 

Our psychologists tell us that, with the normal pupil, 
mental fatigue from school work is quickly induced and 
also quickly passes away. Mental efficiency, or the in- 
crements of skill gained through mental training, is much 
more permanent in its character, and is not soon lost. 
If this be true, in order to attain the highest possible 
maximum of mental efficiency, with the greatest economy 
of effort, provide working periods with more frequent 
rest periods, and thus secure through this power of the 
mind to recuperate rapidly, an almost continuous high 
state of mental vigor. That which has prevented us in 
the past from injecting more freely these rest periods 
into the work periods, has been the fear that during 
such interruptions pupils would lose all the advantage 
gained. But that fear, according to the statement of 
our friends, the psychologists, is not well founded. The 
mind, instead of being, as we supposed, like the old- 
fashioned sensitized plate of the photographer, which 
required a long exposture is, after all, more like the 
highly sensitized plate of the snap-shot camera. Not 
long exposure, but right conditions, such as proper founda- 
tions, close attention, profound interest — these deter- 
mine the vividness of the mental picture, its permanency, 
and the degree of strength gained. We need, cspccialh-, 
in the lower grades, to bring in these more frequent rest 
or exercise periods, believing that the increments of power 



94 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

gained from mental activity will not be dissipated through 
such slight interruptions, and that efficiency of public 
school work will be greatly increased, as well as relieved 
of much of its present drudgery. 

Contrasts in Program 

Change is rest. Presumably the psychological ex- 
planation lies in the fact that the brain has various sense 
centres, to which are referred appropriate stimuli. Weari- 
ness, therefore, in the sense of sight can be partially 
relieved by exercises which appeal largely to the ear 
or the use of the hand. The daily program should be 
so arranged as to bring out the strongest possible con- 
trasts and, for the lower grades, frequent changes in 
subjects. Music, drawing and physical culture should 
be sandwiched in between the more difficult studies. 

Best Working Hours 

Not simply should strong contrasts be sought in ar- 
ranging the daily program, but there should be careful 
study made so as to arrange subjects with reference to 
the hours when each can be pursued to best advantage. 
Professor Seeley, from memory tests made by Dr. Krohn, 
concludes that whatever subject is taken first in tlic 
morning, the average retentive power of the children 
reaches eighty-nine per cent. This, therefore, is the best 
working period of the day, and presumably the period 
for arithmetic. The second best working period he places 
from three to four in the afternoon, and with history as 
the subject finds the retentive power of the children is 
only three per cent less than for the morning hour. Com^ 
mon observation, however, will scarcely sustain this con- 



IN THIi SCHOOL-ROOM 



95 



elusion. The next best period is assigned to the time 
from one to two-thirty, and the poorest period from 
eleven to twelve. Under the best possible arrangement 
of recitation periods, the greatest loss at any one period 
is twenty-one per cent, while under the arrangement of 
the average school program, the loss is thirty-eight per 
cent, or seventeen per cent greater. The average loss 
under a poorly arranged program is eleven per cent 
greater than under the best arrangement. Whether we 
accept these results as strictly accurate or not, it certainly 
remains a highly important fact that much can be gained 
toward relieving the fatigue of the school-room by a wise 
arrangement of the daily program with reference to con- 
trasts in subjects, and their best adaptation to the hours 
of work. 

Better Habits of Study 

Pupils waste an enormous amount of energy in their 
misguided efforts to master a subject. The need of 
training pupils how to study, how to centre every energy 
upon the task in hand, is not yet sufficiently appreciated 
by teachers. Tests in the recitation are all directed to 
ascertaining how much the pupil knows of the subject, 
and the more vital process of how he gained his knowl- 
edge is ignored. Studying is a great art, and its mastery 
or the failure to master it, is fraught with momentous 
consequences to the pupil. There are those right be- 
ginnings which lead on to conscious power and mastery, 
and there are those misguided efforts which lead to 
weariness and defeat. The teacher of to-day must be 
keen enough to discover what bad habits of study arc 
mocking this or that earnest pupil, and making his 



96 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

school life drudgery instead of an inspiration; and when 
discovered, must be able to train into a better use of his 
mental powers. 

Wiser Utilization of Interest 

The study of interest — how to utilize it more fully 
in school work — has in the last decade banished much 
of the weariness and drudgery from the school-room, 
and its advantages and helpfulness in this direction are 
far from being exhausted. The reason why interest is 
such an important factor in relieving from fatigue, lies 
in the well-known fact that the greater the interest in a 
subject, the less the effort of will to hold the attention 
to that subject. The conscious exercise of will is always 
fatiguing, and especially so when the subject under con- 
sideration is distasteful. The potency of interest in re- 
lieving from drudgery lies in the fact that, even con- 
cerning subjects which at first were distasteful, "We 
may," to quote the Herbartians, "build up such a power- 
ful apperception mass that any fact connected with that 
mass will at once attract our attention, quite irrespective 
of our will." Under the wise teacher's management, 
therefore, every subject in the school curriculum can 
eventually be included within the charmed circle of the 
pupil's interests. 

Great Waste of Nervous Energy 

Why is fatigue induced so much sooner when the 
work is distasteful? We have already intimated that 
it is due to the greater exercise of will which is required 
to hold the wavering attention. But it seems that an- 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 97 

Other characteristic should be pointed out. Where dis- 
taste exists an attitude of antagonism springs up. This 
feeling of disUke seeks to express itself in some outward 
form. To repress it requires great effort. Although 
outwardly the pupil may seem composed, there is a deep 
inward struggle. The teacher, unless some bodily ex- 
pression be given it, remains ignorant of it, and is 
not conscious of the immense expenditure of mental, 
even physical, energy the child is undergoing. Let me 
illustrate: I press my hand against one of the walls of 
this room. I foolishly fear that it may fall upon me 
and crush me. I press with all my might against it. 
Every muscle in my body is tense. The cold, unfeeling 
wall shows no sign of yielding, but resists with equal 
pressure my tense muscles; and biit slight CA'idence goes 
forth that I am in such an intense attitude of resistance. 
What a serious mistake to conclude that, because there 
is but little motion, there is therefore no intense struggle 
going on, and therefore no cause for weariness. And 
so in the school-room; when a pupil has a serious dis- 
hke for a subject of study, or for the uninteresting manner 
of presenting it, or a feeling of antagonism has, unfortu- 
nately, sprung up between him and his teacher, what a 
serious mistake to conclude that, because there is but 
little outward manifestation, there is therefore no severe 
tension or cause for weariness. These dislikes, these 
antagonisms, these undercurrents of feeling sap energies 
which should be utilized in fruitful school work. 

Lessen Nervous Tension 

Education, from this point of view, is to direct nervous 
energy into right channels and to keep it out of wrong 



9S STUDIES AN]J OBSER\'ATIONS 

ones. In every idea received, there is a tendency toward 
motion aroused, which expands itself either in nervous 
tension or action. This is illustrated in mouth-watering 
when something luscious is seen, or in mind-reading. 
The child, therefore, is to be regarded as a sensitive 
being in which nerve currents are constantly being aroused 
both by external and internal stimuli. These nerve cur- 
rents may or may not be under control. Some may be 
termed friendly and some hostile, some dominant and 
some defeated. To resist a terrifying sound may waste 
more energy than to give way to it. To prevent fidget- 
iness may be more exhausting than to yield to it. Fa- 
tigue and worry may so react on each other that they 
become an endless circle. Here is where the skilled 
twentieth century teacher, with her superior knowledge 
of these nervous forces, will be able to lessen this waste 
of energy. 

Recuperation as Well as Education Through 

Play 

Play furnishes a potent means for reducing to a mini- 
mum the fatigue of the school-room. The old saying, 
"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," con- 
tains an important pedagogical truth. There is nothing 
so rapidly recuperative for mental fatigue as spontaneous 
activity; and yet, on the other hand, there is nothing 
so helpfully educative as the self-activity engendered in 
play. That which has been most beneficent in the 
present modification of the work of the school-room has 
been the introduction of the play idea from the kinder- 
garten. Strange that it was not introduced sooner! 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 99 

Every idea that enters a boy's mind is accompanied 
with some tendencies to motor activity. He cannot 
think of a ripe watermelon without a rush of sahva to 
his mouth and the muscles of his right hand becoming 
tense with the desire to grasp, the luscious slice. In fact, 
he has not thoroughly grasped any idea until it has set 
every possible power he possesses, both of mind and body, 
into sympathetic action. He must be free to learn it 
all over, to secure for himself as many points of contact 
as possible. And yet, until quite recently, Gray's church- 
yard silence, "When all the air a solemn stillness holds," 
was the supreme test of school-room management. What 
an indictment might here be entered against the strait 
jacket school of yesterday! 

Play, according to Dr. Fitz, is not due so much to an 
overflow of animal spirits, to a superabundance of strength, 
as held by Schiller and Spencer, as for the better prepara- 
tion for life which nature designs to be realized through 
it. To quote Dr. Fitz: 

"Thus youth becomes more completely an appren- 
ticeship to hfe, with play as the master-workman. In 
play the child is the unit of force; he initiates his own 
conditions. His Hmitations are self-imposed. His self- 
control lies in execution rather than in inhibition. He 
is concerned with self-expression rather than with self- 
repression. Play thus relates itself to the truest con- 
ception of education, the development of power, tlie 
power of the individual to act as a self-directed unit in 
civiUzation. The self-control gained by play acts imme- 
diately, strongly, and honestly in response to conditions 
as they are presented in life." 

L. OF C. 



STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 



Physical Training Exercises 

Some schools rely upon physical training exercises to 
relieve from fatigue, but, while it may be admitted that 
such exercises are helpful,' they do not afford as good 
opportunites for mental recuperation as the more spon- 
taneous movement in the outdoor recess. Physical train- 
ing exercises usually require close attention, and much 
of that same exercise of will which is the chief cause of 
school-room fatigue. The movements are liable to be- 
come perfunctory, lacking the spontaneity, the vital in- 
terest, and, in consequence, the exhilaration which out- 
door play gives, and which is the best tonic for rapid 
recovery from mental fatigue. 

I plead guilty to the charge of being one of those city 
superintendents who thought it wise, because of the 
danger from excessive exercise and exposure, but chiefly 
because of the moral contamination possible during the 
outdoor recess, to cut off such recess in the upper grades; 
but I have been soundly converted. I have instructed 
my teachers to return to the outdoor recess, and to avoid 
its former excesses and moral contaminations, as well 
as securing more of its recuperative and educative in- 
fluence, by participating freely in, and in part super- 
vising, the children's games on the school ground. I 
hold that its educative as well as its recuperative and 
its health side is of such value that we should utilize it 
as an important factor in the children's education. 

Conclusions 

To sum up: Fatigue in the school-room may be largely 
decreased, if not reduced to the minimum, by more fre- 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM loi 

quent use of rest periods; by arranging stronger con- 
trasts in the daily program, as well as securing a wiser 
adjustment of difficult subjects to the best working hours; 
by patient and wise training of pupils into better habits 
of study; by a better utilization of the doctrine of in- 
terest; by lessening nervous tension in the school-room; 
and by wise use of play under supervision. 



CHAPTER IX 

A STUDY IN MUSICAL INTERPRETATION 

In order that the title of this study may not prove 
misleading, it should be stated at the outset that this 
investigation was not undertaken primarily in the in- 
terests of musical theory or practice, nor is the chapter 
written from the standpoint of a musical critic. Its 
chief purposes are to present a simple investigation, 
made in an average high school with an average high 
school class in English, in regard to the sensations or 
emotions aroused by music, and to point out the ad- 
vantages of such an investigation as an exercise in 
Enghsh. 

It was beheved that high school students would Imd 
the attempt to portray their feehngs and emotions in 
carefully chosen words a rather difficult task, and be- 
cause of the careful discrimination desired and sought, 
it would prove a highly stimulating exercise in the use 
of good English. 

It was also hoped that such an investigation would 
tend to lead the students into a deeper and more intelli- 
gent appreciation of that which was best in music, would 
tend to cultivate in them a deeper love for the beautiful, 
would tend to enrich their emotional life, would tend to 
develop the habit of introspection, and thus more fully 
reveal to themselves their inner life, and in consequence, 
through fuller knowledge of self, help them to mould 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 103 

and shape their own characters more wisely and con- 
sistently. 

Plan of Investigation 

The exercise was given to a first year high school class, 
numbering seventy-one. They were instructed to hsten 
to the playing of three selections on the piano, the titles 
of which w^re not given them, make notes of each selec- 
tion as to what they would regard an appropriate title, 
its general character, what it suggested, and what feelings 
or emotions it aroused. Later, as an EngHsh exercise, 
they were to write out their impressions. 

The selections played on the piano for that purpose 
were, first, "The Alpine Storm," by Kunkel, second, 
"Cradle Song," by Heller, and "The Harlequin," by 
Chaminade. These, as the titles indicate, are widely 
different in character, and present those striking musical 
contrasts which were desired. The violence of the storm 
in the first selection is followed in the second by the 
peaceful, soothing cradle song, which, in turn, is inter- 
rupted by the dancing and mad pranks of the clown. 

Selection of Titles 

An examination of the papers disclosed that the mem- 
bers of the class interpreted the general spirit of each 
selection fairly well. As might be readily anticipated, 
the wild pranks of "The Harlequin" were most clearly 
set forth, and therefore best understood, and appropriate 
titles were given to that selection by sixty out of sev- 
enty-one. 

The dance idea, as so many expressed it, made itself 
felt in the feet, and such titles as the French, Spanish, 
Bohemian and Fairies' Dance were given. Some, pre- 



104 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

sumably not so familiar with the dance feeling, or not 
so susceptible to its seductive influence, named the selec- 
tion, "The Race," or "The Circus." 

The next easiest selection to interpret was "The Alpine 
Storm." Fifty-six out of the seventy-one caught the 
general spirit of it. In a few instances the crash of the 
lightning and the roll of the thunder were mistaken for 
the clashing of musketry and the roar and thunder of 
artillery in battle — a misinterpretation easily made. 
Under this impression these named the selection "The 
Victory." 

As was anticipated, that which proved the most diffi- 
cult to interpret was the "Cradle Song," presumably 
because the ideas which its author sought to convey 
were not so well marked out as in the other selections. 
To meditate, to muse, to be soothed, to hear a lullaby, 
is to open the heart to many varying emotions, none 
of which is characterized by anything startling or strik- 
ing. Whether we are soothed or saddened by the lullaby 
depends largely upon our recent experiences, or upon 
the thoughts which have been recently coursing through 
our minds. 

In the case of the Enghsh class, the titles suggested 
by the playing of the "Cradle Song" indicated that a 
much wider range of emotions was stirred. The titles 
suggested as appropriate varied from "Spring" to "A 
Summer Day," from "Reverie" to "A Funeral March," 
and from "A Shepherd's Dream" to "Cathedral Chimes." 

Typical Papers Submitted 

Out of the seventy-one papers prepared in this exer- 
cise in English, onlv two of them can be given entire, 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 105 

although all were highly interesting and worthy of care- 
ful study. These two brief papers, the first written by 
a girl, the second by a boy, are not presented because 
of their excellence, but because they are typical of each 
sex and to some extent manifest the contrasts and in- 
dividual traits of the members of the class. Each stu- 
dent selected his oun title for his paper: 

"Musical Meanings and Suggestions" 

''A day or two ago I heard three selections played on 
the piano. As I sat listening, I found myself becoming 
wrapped up in the music, and, as the time and expres- 
sion changed, my thoughts wandered from one scene 
to another. 

"I have studied music to a hm-ited degree, but knew 
neither the authors, nor (with the exception of the first) 
the names. 

"The name of the first selection was "The Alpine 
Storm." To me it pictured gloom and utter darkness. 
There seemed to be great despair, and near the close, a 
strain which signified a sort of triumph. In some places, 
excitement and animation were so aroused, that not only 
did my thoughts wander, but my whole being thrilled. 

"The second was much slower than the first. The 
character was sad and somewhat weird, and the spirit 
devotional. At intervals through the piece, a tone of 
uncertainty could be heard, and the last note left the 
listener in suspense. 

"These different qualities brought to my mind the 
thought that it might be a prayer. Because of the doubt 
expressed in the piece, I named it 'The Wanderer's 
SuppHcation.' 



io6 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

"The third was faster than the first. There was a 
sort of swing to the time that made me want to dance. 
On account of the shortness of the notes and rapidity 
with which they were played, I named this piece, 'The 
Scamper of the Mice.' 

"It is wonderful to think that so many thoughts can 
be expressed without words; perhaps expressed better 
than with them, and yet how few of us ever stop to realize 
the true meaning of the music we hear." 

"Our Concert" 

"We were treated to a little concert Monday afternoon 
after school. 

"There were just three numbers in all. The first 
started out in a sleepy manner, but it soon livened up, 
and we could very plainly hear the roar of cannons, 
and parts of bugle calls, which could faintly be heard 
over the din. After it had continued for some time, it 
suddenly became calm, and sounded somewhat like a 
music box, when it suddenly burst forth again in all its 
fury, and that was the end. 

"The next thing I knew, they had begun a new piece, 
and it was all that I could do to keep my eyes open, as 
it was a lullaby of some sort, and a sleepier sensation I 
never felt. 

"But if I did nearly go to sleep during the second 
piece, it would have been impossible in the last. It 
was such very lively dance music that it made me want 
to get up and gallop around the room. Luckily for me, 
just before I started on my wild career, the music stopped, 
so suddenly that I almost fell off the other side of my 
seat. 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOAl 107 

"Now that the music was over, I began to wonder 
what the names of the different pieces were, as we had 
not been informed on that subject. As I could not find 
out from any one, I decided to manufacture some titles 
for myself, which I did with the following result: 

"i. 'The Battle.' 

"2. 'The Lullaby.' 

"3. 'The Hot Ti'me Gallop.' 

"These are all very simple names, but, nevertheless, 
the names by which I shall always know that music." 

Contrasts 

A comparison of these two papers discloses at once 
to the teacher the maturer views of the girl on musical 
matters, the better understanding which she has of her 
inner self, and the choicer, more discriminating language 
in which she attempts to portray her own feelings. The 
boy, although older in years, manifests much less ac- 
quaintance with the realm of music and its refining 
influence, betrays a slight acquaintance with his crude 
emotional life, indicates that he scarcely knows his inner 
self at all, and rambles and stumbles hither and thither 
in his awkward attempts to clothe his feelings and emo- 
tions in proper English dress. 

While these differences in ability to express them- 
selves clearly, would no doubt appear in their discussion 
of any subject, yet it would not appear in so marked a 
manner as in this to them somewhat mysterious and 
undefined realm of the feelings, to which music so subtly 
and so strongly appeals. 

Is it not true, therefore, that no more profitable field 



io8 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

for training in the discriminative use of the Enghsh lan- 
guage can be found anywhere, than in such an exercise 
as the one described? Nowhere else within the sphere 
of personal experience is there a better opportunity for 
the careful weighing of words than in this attempt to 
set forth their deepest emotions. 

Knowledge of Music 

In order to throw a little more light on this study, 
through a better acquaintance with the musical knowl- 
edge possessed by the class, they were asked later to 
answer the following questions. A summary of their 
replies is also given: 

1. Do you play any musical instrument? 
Forty repHed yes, and thirty-one, no. 

2. Do you sing? 

Twenty-two answered in the affirmative and forty-nine 
in the negative. 

3. Do your parents sing or play on any musical in- 
strument ? 

Forty said yes, and thirty-one, no. 

4. When listening to a piece of music, do you feel 
conscious of any physical sensations? If so, describe 
them briefly. 

Forty-eight answered in the affirmative and twenty- 
three in the negative. 

Sensations Aroused 

The replies to question four as to the character of the 
physical sensations were as follows: 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 109 

Eight students stated, "When hvely music is played, 

I want to get up and dance." 

Six repHed, "Cold chills go up and down my back." 
Four, "Always feel very much excited." 
Four, "Want to keep time with my hands and feet." 
Three state, "I feel drowsy, and it seems as if I could 

sit there forever." 

Three, "Lively music makes me feel lively, and music 

that tells something horrible ma|s;es me shudder." 

Two repHed, "When I heard the 'Alpine Storm,' I 

found myself quite frightened." 

Two, "Feel nervous when Hstening to fast music." 

Individual experiences ran as follows: 

"While listening to some 'rag-time' pieces, I feel a 
creepy sensation." 

"While listening to classical music, my muscles con- 
tract, and I give a little jerk and feel a tendency to draw 
nearer the instrument." 

"When Hstening to 'rag-time' pieces, I am always 
affected in my feet." 

"Some music makes my muscles twitch, and my hands 
close tightly over some object." 

"When a piece is very high, it sets my teeth on 
edge." 

"If Hstening to music and reading at the same time, 
the characters in the book appear more real." 

"When I hear band music, I feel like I would like to 
run and race, and let out my feelings." 

"I like to sit and think of great things I might do, and 
to sit and dream for a few minutes afterward." 



no STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

Enjoyment of Music 

There have been many interesting discussions over the 
question, "Is the enjoyment of music largely of a physi- 
cal, intellectual, or emotional nature?" Why does a 
"concord of sweet sounds" give us a high degree of 
pleasure? Does it rouse up simply dehghtful physical 
sensations? Is it largely a pleasurable thrill of the 
nerves, as in the titillating of the olfactory nerves by 
some ambrosial perfume ? Does it stimulate the imagina- 
tion and thus lift us into an ecstasy of enjoyment, through 
the enchanting pictures it presents? Are these pictures 
chiefly sensual, sensuous, or may they take on spiritual 
characteristics ? Does music arouse a spirit of exaltation 
and call forth desires for a purer, nobler hfe? In other 
words, does music appeal chiclly to the physical, intel- 
lectual or spiritual nature of man? 

Since philosophers have not been able to agree in their 
answers to these questions, it is not anticipated that 
this inquiry will disclose satisfactory answers. This in- 
ference seems a legitimate one to make, that music 
arouses and intensities such feelings or emotions as char- 
acterize the general tenor of each individual's life, but 
lifting them probably to a higher plane. To the pure, all 
things are pure; to the sensual, all things are sensual. 

The answers of these high school boys and girls in- 
dicate that there is a great variety of feelings and emo- 
tions aroused by music. These feelings and emotions 
and thoughts are highly complex, cover a wide range, 
and are as varied as the experiences through which each 
member has passed. It is another evidence of the truth 
of that wonderful saving attributed bv Tennvson to 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM lii 

Ulysses, "I am a part of all that I have met," or to use 
a little hcense, "All that I have met is a part of me." No 
two human beings, therefore, because possessing such 
widely differing apperceptive material, can hear alike, 
-:an be mo^'ed in the same way. 

Dominance of Physical Sensations 

There is a rather surprising dominance of the physical 
sensations among the members of the class tested, as over 
two-thirds of them confess to such experiences. It is 
anticipated, however, that when the buoyancy and vigor 
of youth have decreased, and the soul has been enriched 
by the larger opportunities and more serious responsi- 
bilities of later life, then the appeal of music will be more 
largely to the intellectual and spiritual side. 

There are some interesting contrasts experienced in 
listening to the music. Some wdsh to dance, while others 
feel nervous. Some feel their muscles twitching, while 
others are in a happy mood. Some are thrilled by pa- 
triotic music, and are eager to do some great deed, while 
others wish to run a race. Some have their teeth set on 
edge, while others are lulled into a dreamy mood. Some 
are inclined to be cross, while others are inspired with 
romantic ideas. Some shudder, while others experience 
horripilation. 

Sufficient instances have been given to show that music is 
a wonderful factor in arousing varied feelings, thoughts 
and emotions in the soul, and that its enjoyment is prob- 
ably due to its power of appeal, not simply to the physical, 
but to the intellectual and spiritual as well. xA.s to which 
of these will dominate a listener, can only be determined 
])y that particular combination of material and spiritual 



112 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

elements which we call individuality, coupled with his 
peculiar mood and surroundings when listening. 

Musical Impressions Hard to Express 

Forty-one out of seventy-one stated that they found it 
difficult to express their impressions aroused by the music. 
Six declare they "Did not have sufficient command of 
language." 

Three stated, "I had never before tried to write on a 
subject with which I was not familiar." 

Three, "Didn't understand the music very well." 
Two said, "My impressions were not clear." 
Others replied, "Am not well versed in English, and I 
know so httle about music." 

"My mind was taken up with the catchy air." 
"The sensation which comes with some parts of music 
is indescribable — it is a sort of trance." 
"I don't know what my impressions wTrc." 
"Music makes me think of things that are not real." 
"My impressions were in such a tangled condition 
that it was almost impossible to straighten them out." 

"Music is from the soul and the different impressions 
which might be received from hearing good music are 
hard to express." 

That it is difficult for the average first year high school 
boy or girl to set forth his or her feelings or emotions, is 
evident from the two papers presented entire, as well 
as from the above answers. Even with the adult it is 
true that his feelings are aften expressed with difficulty, 
and there is a famiUar statement that our emotions are 
often too deep for words; but would this be such a com- 
mon experience if we did not neglect to cultivate a closer 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 113 

acquaintance with our inner self ? Would we not be able, 
if we more frequently came face to face with our inner self, 
to cultivate a closer acquaintance with these emotions, 
vague longings, unconscious yearnings of our souls, and 
thus not only be better able to clothe our emotions with 
words, but also accomphsh that which is of much greater 
value, shape our own characters more intelligently? 

Is Introspection Dangerous? 
But some one may suggest that the habit of introspec- 
tion is rather a dangerous one for young people to cul- 
tivate. It may induce an abnormal condition, an ex- 
cessive self-consciousness, a condition of morbidness 
which will retard wholesome soul growth. It should not 
be forgotten that every vital process has its dangers. The 
process of eating is vital, yet there are many gourmands 
and, in consequence, dyspeptics. But we shall wisely 
encourage the eating of food. As a rule, where there 
are great possibilities, there are also great dangers. The 
cultivation of the powers of the imagination is dangerous 
to certain classes of young people, and yet an educational 
system that did not provide for the careful training of 
the imagination, that power that can make the humblest 
life worth living, would be justly open to the severest 
criticism. Introspection is generally needed. We need 
to bring about, in the average high school student, a 
better acquaintance with his inner self, and such a study 
as the foregoing can be made one of the helpful means 
towards the accomplishment of this end. 

Conclusion 
This brief and somewhat rambling study in musical 
interpretation, is only intended to be suggestive. It can- 



114 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

not claim to be conclusive. Its primary purposes are 
to call attention to the sensations or emotions aroused 
by music in first year high school boys and girls, and to 
point out the advantages of such a study as an exercise 
in the discriminating use of good English. 

But there are also several ulterior purposes sought. 
The writer believes that such studies as these will tend 
to develop that better understanding and deeper appreci- 
ation of music, which means increased capacity and 
ability to understand and appreciate melody in note of 
bird, and babble of brook, an increased capacity and 
ability to delight in beauty of form, in harmony of color 
and in symmetry of proportion also. 

He believes also that the habit of sane introspection 
is necessary, in order to a right understanding of the 
inner life and self. That such studies tend to that better 
acquaintance with the inner, the real self — an acquaint- 
ance that is too little cultivated in our bustling, rushing, 
jostling American life — is evident. There seems to 
be no provision made in our intense American life for 
reflection, meditation, for the individual to commune 
with himself, for his selfish self to be brought face to 
face with his larger, truer self. Here are opportunities 
of directly moulding the emotional, mental and moral 
nature of our boys and girls that have not yet been suffi- 
ciently utiHzed. The skillful twentieth century teacher 
must study, will study, through music and all other 
legitimate channels, how to influence in a greater degree 
the emotional life of her pupils, and by such means will 
prove more successful in attaining the highest end in all 
school-room work, the building of right character. 



CHAPTER X 

ALERTNESS 
Examples of Its Lack 

At the time when the Cuban War was in progre^ i., 
it was the writer's privilege one day to be one of a groi p 
of ladies and gentlemen who were enjoying a good dinn ?r 
at one of the leading hotels of Washington. In the group 
were two gentlemen, one a goverment officer and the 
other a shrewd, wealthy banker from a small western 
town. Both these men were efficient and capable in 
their respective lines of work. In the conversation, 
which naturally turned upon the Cuban War, the gov- 
ernment officer used the word "Cuban," pronouncing it 
as if spelled "Cubian." Another of the part» used the 
word a Httle later and pronounced it correctly. The 
government officer's ears were open, however, and a few 
moments later he used the word Cuban and pronounced 
it correctly. He was alert to utilize information as it 
came to him. 

The western banker, who was wide awake along linan- 
cial lines, and quick to catch hints and suggestions in 
fmancial matters, was obtuse and unobservant of the 
usual customs of table etiquette. While everyone else 
at that table was a worthy exemplar of dining-room 
manners, and it was only necessary for the banker quietly 
to observe and imitate those about him, he deliberately 

115 



ii6 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

set his pace in his own way, ate with his knife, poured 
his coffee into his saucer, etc. And yet he was a keen 
observer in financial as weh as in many other hnes. 
Why was this banker so obtuse and the government 
officer so keen? A difference, we answer, in alertness. 

At a social function the host asked, "What goes round 
a buttin'?" Some said, "A button-hole, of course." 
When the host replied, "A goat goes round a buttin','' 
a prominent business man said, "Why I don't see that 
even now," while a teacher said, "I didn't know that 
goats ate buttons." This is another form of obtuseness 
or lack of alertness. 

The writer had occasion to buy a gas stove of an Eng- 
lish shop-keeper. In describing the virtues of the stove, 
the shop-keeper said, "The gas combines with the hair 
and makes a good deal of 'eat." And yet that man was 
daily surrounded by those who pronounced English cor- 
rectly and they were constantly sounding it in his ears, 
but to no purpose. This is a very common form of 
obtuseness, but it is singular, nevertheless. Why should 
an intelligent human being be so impervious, impene- 
trable, impermeable, insusceptible to change, to im- 
provement? Why are the corrupt forms of speech so 
persistent, so stable, so permanent, while the pure forms 
are so easily corrupted? Isn't it evident that watchful- 
ness everywhere, alertness, is one of the most important 
traits of character to be cultivated ? 

It is said that over ninety per cent of men in business 
fail. They start out with high hopes of success, they 
devote much time and energy in their efforts to succeed, 
but over ninety per cent of them fail. The path of suc- 
cess in every profession or avocation is piled high on 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM _ 117 

both sides and throughout its entire length' with countless 
wrecks and failures. Why so many, many failures? 
One prominent cause is lack of alertness. 

What is Alertness? 

What is alertness? What is this characteristic which 
has so much to do with the successes and failures of 
life and whose importance can scarcely be over-em- 
phasized? How does it distinguish its fortunate pos- 
sessor from him who possesses it not ? 

If we seek the answer to our question, "What is alert- 
ness?" in the origin, or hteral meaning of the term, 
we will find the answer exceedingly interesting and sug- 
gestive. It can be traced through several languages and 
is everywhere rich in its suggestions. Our English 
authorities characterize it as quickness, promptness, 
watchfulness, vigilance. If it be traced to the French 
language, it is there coined into alerfe, meaning earlier, 
and suggests those old saws about 

"Early to bed, early to rise, 
Make a man healthy, wealthy and wise," 

and the early bird that catches the worm. 

Alerte also can be traced to a I'erie, meaning "on the 
watch," and this in turn to the Italian alV erf a, with the 
more suggestive significance that the alert person is stand- 
ing on a height where he can look around and survey 
the whole situation. Alertness, therefore, is watchful- 
ness, vigilance in observing closely the things that are 
occurring, and quickness, promptness in seeing their 
significance and intelligently using the same. He that 
possesses alertness is watchful early and late, and is as 



ii8 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

one standing on a height where he can look around, 
survey the whole situation, catch every helpful sugges- 
tion, and utilize it in his own advancement and growth. 
This, pre-eminently, should be the attitude of the teacher. 
Alertness is an essential characteristic of every successful 
teacher. 

Contrast in Alertness 

Take two familiar types of teachers; the one we will 
name Miss Jones, the other Miss Smith. Both of them 
have been well-born and have had the good fortune to 
have been brought up in excellent homes — such an im- 
portant factor in the making of the first class teacher. 
Both were graduated from the same high school and 
together entered the same normal school. Up to this 
time, their individual characteristics have not widely 
separated them, as everything has been carefully planned 
for them, but when they leave home, they find themselves 
thrown more upon their own resources and then more 
marked characteristics appear. 

Miss Jones, possessing greater alertness, is quick to 
see that short cuts to any teaching process are danger- 
ous, that right principles must undcrhe permanently suc- 
cessful practice, that principles are broadening while 
methods are often narrowing, so she seeks to master 
principles. When a method is presented to her in the 
normal school, she does not rest satisfied until she has 
some understanding of the underlying principles. 

Miss Smith, however, because of less alertness, does 
not stand on the same height as Miss Jones, and fails 
to take in that larger horizon. She sees most progress 
in preparation for the profession of teaching through 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 119 

the thorough mastery of the details of method, and so 
devours eagerly every method set before her, caring little 
for the mastery of the principles which should underhe 
every good method. She wants specific directions how 
to teach each subject, so that she may conscientiously 
do her duty and not trust to her own judgment in the 
working out of details, with tlie possible shortcomings 
that such a course might entail. 

And here is just where her reasoning, or shall we 
term it lack of alertness, is at fault. Without granting 
herself some latitude in the working out of the details 
of a recitation, she can never develop in herself any power 
of initiative, and condemns herself to the monotony of 
being only and always an imitator. 

They are both graduated from the normal school. 
Because each has been diligent in her work, and eager 
to succeed, their instructors heartily recommend them, 
and they are employed in the same system of schools. 
Miss Smith finds ready use for the methods whose de- 
tails she so thoroughly memorized. While her teaching 
is somewhat mechanical, yet to the casual observer her 
promptness and air of assurance are pleasing. She never 
hesitates because in doubt what to do next. She has 
the fullest confidence in the methods handed down to 
her from the very highest authorities, and if the chil- 
dren's needs are not exactly met, the fault must lie with 
the children. 

Miss Jones is not .so ready with her methods. She 
takes much time at the opening of her school to study 
the characteristics of each pupil. She believes that only 
after a thorough study of each jjupil's needs can she 
give them the training the}- ought to have. Delays occur 



I20 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

which are annoying to her and her pupils. She is in a 
state of stress which is disquieting, and is drawing heavily 
upon her energy. Were the superintendent to examine 
the results of the first three or five months' work, unless 
he were a very keen observer, he would probably find 
more evidences of progress in Miss Smith's room than 
in Miss Jones' room. But he wisely suspends judg- 
ment until results can be more definitely known. 

As the months go by. Miss Smith's pupils manifest a 
certain readiness and ghbness on the lines of work cov- 
ered. They can respond with surprising promptness to 
questions cahing for certain memorized facts, but to 
questions of comparison between these facts, to ques- 
tions requiring the discovery of some causal relation 
between those facts, they fail to respond. But Miss 
Jones' pupils begin to show evidences of power which 
are more gratifying. While they have not so many facts 
lodged in memory, they have been trained to make use 
of those facts, to assimilate them, to organize them, to 
classify them, to discover relations. Miss Jones believes 
that the significance of a fact docs not he in the fact itself 
but in its relations to other facts. A few facts well as- 
similated, well organized, are worth a thousand tossed 
heterogeneously into the memory. The power to think 
logically, the power of initiative, are thus gradually yet 
surely developed. 

Advantages in School Visitation 

One day the superintendent, believing that school 
visitation has in it great possibilities of growth for the 
teacher who is observing and alert, sent Miss Smith and 
Miss Jones to visit the school-room of Miss Brown, who 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 121 

was regarded as an average teacher in the corps. Un- 
fortunately, it was an "off day" for Miss Brown, and 
not everything that transpired in her room was worthy 
of commendation. Her usual nervousness was increased 
by the entrance of Miss Jones and Miss Smith, because 
she feared that her pupils would try to show off before 
her visitors in the various annoying ways known to 
pupils under such circumstances. Miss Brown was con- 
ducting a recitation in geography, while the other half of 
the pupils were supposed to be engaged in the prepara- 
tion of a language lesson. 

Miss Jones, having looked forward to this visiting day 
with much anticipation, and having thought out care- 
fully what she particularly wished to see and investi- 
gate, first glanced around the room to see wherein this 
room in its equipment and decorations differed from 
hers. The general impression made upon her was pleas- 
ing, and she thought the room was a little more attrac- 
tive than her own. She sought for the cause of that 
difference, and concluded it was chiefly due to an in- 
expensive, yet artistic, mural centrepiece, and she quickly 
decided she would have some such decoration for the 
centre of her school-room. Miss Smith gave a casual 
glance around the room and was as pleasantly impressed 
with its general appearance as her companion, but it 
did not occur to her to seek out its chief cause and trans- 
fer the suggestion to the improvement of her own school- 
room. She lacked in alertness. 

Use of Study Period 

Miss Jones next turned her attention to the pupils 
who were preparing their language lesson. She had 



T22 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

been led to the conclusion that, since the self-activity 
of the pupil is the only process by which he can educate 
himself, training into right habits of study and close 
application in the preparation of the lesson are the best 
means of gauging the pupils' progress. She noticed 
that about half the pupils were closely engaged in study, 
while the others were dawdling and frittering away the 
time. She mentally commented over the great loss going 
on. Only half the possible progress being made, fifty 
per cent of loss, at least. What a tremendous waste! 
But worse still, those dawdlers were unconsciously training 
themselves into habits which would severely handicap 
them all through the balance of life's race. 

Miss Smith also noticed the use made of the study 
period in preparation of the language lesson, but as the 
pupils were not violating any of the commonly accepted 
rules governing good conduct, she concluded that the 
discipline of Miss Brown's room was fairly good, and 
that there were no important suggestions to be drawn 
from it. 

Use of Recitation Period 

Miss Jones then turned her attention to the class work 
in geography. All the pupils seemed attentive and deeply 
interested. Miss Brown was just asking the class the 
question, "What are the names of the chief rivers of 
North America?" Charlie, an excitable pupil, wishing 
to answer the question, and forgetting in his eagerness 
what had so often been told him, jumped to his feet 
and almost frantically waved his hand. Miss Brown 
was chagrined over his forgetfulness, and in a harsh 
tone said, "Sit down, Charlie," and then added fretfully. 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 123 

"Why can't you remember that you are not to rise until 
your name is called? I'm ashamed of you." 

Miss Jones, appreciating the fact that Charlie was of 
a nervous and highly sensitive temperament, and that 
his eagerness to respond, rather than any spirit of dis- 
obedience, had prompted him, promptly reached the 
conclusion that Miss Brown had made a serious mis- 
take. She saw from Charlie's Hushed face, his quiver- 
ing lips and the aggrieved look in his eyes, how deeply 
Miss Brown had wounded him. She saw also that Miss 
Brown, through such inconsiderate, unfriendly criticism, 
was helping to foster a spirit of antagonism, not simply 
in the mind of Charlie, but in the minds of many of the 
other pupils in her room. The sympathetic atmosphere 
which up to this time had pervaded the room, had re- 
ceived a severe chill, and Miss Jones readily perceived 
the quarter from whence the chilling blast came. 

Miss Smith saw in this affair only an ordinary school- 
room incident, and while the thought flashed through 
her mind that perhaps Miss Brown might have accom- 
plished more with Charlie in overcoming his fault, by a 
private heart to heart talk, yet he deserved pretty severe 
treatment for his offense. The barriers which were rising 
between teacher and pupils, the antagonisms which were 
being aroused, the loosening of the bonds of sympathy 
and companionship, the chill in the atmosphere, all these 
were so dimly seen or so vaguely felt by Miss Smith that 
she gained no valuable lessons from them. Miss Smith 
was not alert. 

Miss Jones noted also the character of Miss Brown's 
question. It seemed to her that instead of asking, "What 
are the names of the chief rivers of North America?" 



124 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

it would have been made more definite and valuable if she 
had put it, "Name and locate the chief rivers of North 
America." The name of a river, without its location in- 
timately associated with it, has but little significance or 
value. Miss Smith was wondering whether these pupils 
would reach a higher average standing than those of 
her own room, and gave no thought to the form or char- 
acter of the questions asked. 

Kind of Language Work 

Later, the visitors were shown some of the results of 
a written test in language. The papers were carefully- 
gone over and their general appearance, which was neat, 
was commended. Some questions were asked as to the 
means of securing good penmanship, and pages free 
from blots, which brought out the fact that eternal vig- 
ilance is the price of neat, legible writing. 

In further examining the papers. Miss Jones discov- 
ered three instances where pupils had written in reply 
to the question, "With what mark should every ques- 
tion end?" "Every question should end with an in- 
terrogation point." In the next answer, and in plain 
sight of their statement, they wrote a question and failed 
to end it with the interrogation point. 

Miss Smith was only amused by it, when her attention 
was called to this inconsistency, and gave the matter no 
further thought, but Miss Jones pondered over it in this 
manner. Here was a case of sufficient knowledge, for 
these children had answered correctly how the interro- 
gation point should be used. Their knowledge wasn't 
at fault. That bit of knowledge had been lodged in 
their minds securely and accurately. To repeat the 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 125 

statement would profit them nothing. . Iteration and 
reiteration of words would simply be barren. The 
fault lay in the failure of Miss Brown to lead those pupils 
to utilize their knowledge, to put their knowledge into 
practice. Acts, not words, were to be repeated until 
they had become habitual. That teaching which stops 
with the lodgment in memory of the words of a process, 
and does not, through persistent practice, transform or 
translate that knowledge into habits, conduct, stops 
short of its highest fruition. This failure to repeat not 
words but acts until they become familiar, habitual, is 
largely responsible for the lack of growth and efficiency 
which characterizes so much school-room work. 

Contrasts in Results Gained 

Without going into detail concerning other incidents 
of the visit to Miss Brown's room, is it not quite evident 
that Miss Jones had gained immeasurably more from 
her visit than Miss Smith? Robert Browning must have 
had the Miss Smiths in mind when he wrote: 

''Oh, if we draw a circle premature, 
Heedless of far gain, 
Greedy for quick returns of profit, sure 
Bad is our bargain!" 

They are types of teachers we find in every corps, 
both earnest, conscientious, faithful, desiring to make 
progress, to increase in efficiency in their chosen work, 
and yet from the visit to the same school-room, seeing 
the work carried on at the same time, under exactly (lie 
same conditions, Miss Jones carries away with her iliosc 
hints, suggestions, inspirations, thoughts, lessons, which 



126 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

will soon place her far in advance of Miss Smith. Place 
them, as in Miss Brown's school-room, where they have 
the same opportunities for enrichment, and the results 
are so" widely different. Because of the superior alert- 
ness of Miss Jones, she will gather hints and ideas at all 
times and in all ways. Her growth will be rapid and 
continuous, but Miss Smith, unless she can cultivate a 
greater degree of watchfulness, unless she can somehow 
mount higher, stand on a height where she can survey 
the whole situation, unless she can cultivate a greater 
degree of alertness, will be compelled to plod on through 
her professional life in the ranks of the imitators, will be 
denied that highest enjoyment which arises from the 
consciousness of rapid growth and increasing efhciency, 
but worst of all, will fail in exemplifying before her 
pupils that essential quahty in winning success — alert- 
ness. 



CHAPTER XI 

A STUDY IN SPELLING 

The public schools of this country are properly re- 
garded as the greatest factor in training up good citi- 
zens. The transforming of the raw material, particu- 
larly that which comes from foreign shores, is in its 
results marvelous. No other institution contributes as 
much to the stability of our liberal form of government 
as does our public school system, and in consequence, 
no other institution lies so near to the hearts of this people. 

This fact will probably explain why the results achieved 
in our pubhc schools are so often subjected to severe 
and sometimes unreasonable criticism. Those who have 
been watching the progress of our public schools the last 
twenty-five years, are well aware that periodical waves 
of criticism sweep the country, usually taking the form 
of antagonism to anything new. It usually tries to 
arouse serious opposition by vigorously shouting: "Down 
with the fads." "Return to the three R's." 

Music and drawing had to fight their wu}- into the 
curriculum against this noisy opposition, but who is 
there left now who seriously urges that these be dropped 
from tlie school curriculum ? These have demonstrated 
their \alue and their right to a place in the course of 
study. Our critics, however, continue to be active and 
charge periodically that writing and spelling are on the 
decline. They make the broad claim that the pupils 



128 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

to-day are not as well trained in these subjects, parti- 
cularly in spelling, as they were twenty-five years ago. 

Present Spelling Criticised 

Unfortunately for the schools, it is easy to make such 
claims and to secure what seems to be substantial evi- 
dence of the justness of such claims. There has never 
yet been a school without a certain contingent of poor 
spellers. In a matter of such broad comparisons, where 
all classes of children are included, the one holding the 
view that the children of to-day are poorer spellers than 
those of the generation which preceded them, is looking 
in the direction of the poor spellers, and of course always 
finds them, for the poor speller, like the poor in general, 
we have always with us. 

Then, too, "distance lends enchantment" to the good 
old times, when we of the preceding generation were 
boys and girls together in school. Our severe critics 
forget that there were poor spellers then, as now, who 
could perform the wonderful feat of spelling a simple 
word in two different ways in the same paragraph, and 
when criticised for it would defend themselves on the 
ground of possessing greater originality than "the com- 
mon herd." There is a tradition that President Andrew 
Jackson's attention was once called to one of his state 
papers, wherein he had exercised the same originality, 
but it only provoked from him the rather curt retort, 
"I wouldn't give a continental for a man that couldn't 
spell a word more than one way." Without doubt origi- 
nality can find more appropriate and helpful channels 
in which to express itself than in setting up a dual stand- 
ard in spelling. The pubhc will continue to regard poor 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 



129 



spelling as one of the evidences of poor scliolarship, 
Old Hickory to the contrary notwithstanding, 

A Spelling Test 

Not holding the opinion that the school children of 
to-day are poorer spellers than those of a generation 
ago, it occurred to the writer that a wholesale test might 
be made in the schools under his supervision, of all 
pupils in the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth 
grades. It was recognized that to give the same list 
to the fourth grade pupils, whose average age is about 
ten, as to the eighth grade pupils, whose a\'erage age is 
about fourteen, would be a rather severe test for the 
fourth grade pupils, but the desire to have the same 
test throughout the grades outweighed that objection. 

The list of one hundred words selected for that test 
was also used in several other schools east and west, 
with practically the same averages in the different grades. 
It is given here so that others may make the same test 
and have some basis for comparison in results. The 
test was made without giving the pupils opportunity 
for any preliminary preparation or warning. 

List of Words 



food 


river 


nerve 


beef 


stream 


wrist 


soup 

fish 

chicken 


pebble 

pond 

shore 


blood 

breathing 

healthy 


turkey 

goose 

sheep 


valley 

mountain 

water 


exercise 
clothing 
coat 


horse 


ocean 


bonnet 


house 


boat 


shoes 


school 
scholar 


steamer 
passenger 


vigorous 
arithmetic 



STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 



voyage 


number 


travel 


column 


journey 


remainder 


noun 


minuend 


pronoun 


multiplication 


verb 


addition 


preposition 


subtraction 


adjective 


product 


interjection 


divisor 


exclamation 


measure 


language 


minute 


word 


second 


speech 


month 


voice 


August 


head 


February 


throat 


century 


muscle 


cocoon 


finger 


happiness 


lungs 


helpfulness 


joint 


humane 


eyes 


successful 



studies 

useful 

spade 

shovel 

rake 

garden 

lawn 

grass 

robin 

sparrow 

blackbird 

hawk 

flower 

violet 

rose 

dandelion 

golden-rod 

pink 

lilac 

hly 

lake 

island 

These words are such as are in common use and 
therefore constitute a fair average test. 

Results of Test 

The number and per cent tested in each grade were 
as follows: 

Fourth, six hundred, seventy-two and three-tenths per 
cent; fifth, four hundred thirty-eight, eighty-two and 
five-tenths per cent; sixth, four hundred seventy-three, 
ninety per cent; seventh, two hundred eighty-six, ninety- 
three and eight-tenths per cent; eighth, two hundred 
thirty-three, ninety-five and six-tenths per cent; tot-l, 
two thousand thirty, eighty-four and four-tenths per ccnl. 

Eliminating the fourth grade pupils, average age about 
ten, the remaining one thousand four hundred t'l'rly 
pupils made an average of ninety per cent. While tliis 
does not indicate a very high degree of accuracy in spell- 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 131 

ing in our schools, yet there is every reason to believe 
on the part of those famihar with school work twenty- 
five years ago, that it is an improvement over the spelling 
of those clays. We suspect that if the same words were 
written by any average two thousand admirers of the 
good old times residing in our western cities, the per 
cent of misspelled words would be over fifteen, certainly 
over ten. 

How Improve the Spelling 

Although firmly convinced that the spelling of to-day 
is better than that of twenty-five, or even ten, years ago, 
yet there can be no serious difference of opinion over 
the desirability of making even more rapid improve- 
ment. The subject of spelling is not an inspiring one 
to pupil or teacher. Teachers have unfortunately settled 
down to the conviction that its mastery cannot be lifted 
out of the field of drudgery. F.very other subject has 
some features about it that furnish opportunities for 
careful thought and the development of skill in the 
teaching process., except spelling. Every other subject 
brings up interesting questions as to the right mode of 
procedure, but both the mode of study by the pupils, 
as well as the conduct of the recitation in spelling, is 
monotonous and only monotonous. So long as these 
depressing ideas generally obtain, so long will it be 
impossible to lift up this subject out of the realm of 
drudgery. 

What are the best means of impro\dng spelling? is 
a question that is old and ever recurring. The writer 
does not imagine that he v.'ill be able lo give a final an- 
swer to this perplexing question, but he docs entertain 



132 STUDIES AND OBSER\'ATIONS 

the hope tliat he may throw some hght upon the sokition 
of it. In any event, he hopes that his attempt may 
arouse others to investigate and discuss this knotty 
problem. 

As speUing exercises are usually conducted, they appeal 
to three kinds of memory: memory of form through 
the eye, memory of sounds through the ear, and memory 
of muscular resistance through muscular effort in writing. 
Under the latter class might also be included the mus- 
cular effort required in uttering the sounds of the letters. 
Is it not then a very important question which of these 
three kinds of memory is most potent or tenacious? 
What kind of appeals produces the most lasting im- 
pressions? If we can determine that, then we have 
made some progress towards solving our problem. We 
will then plan our methods of study and of the recitation 
so as to appeal to that memory sense which is most tena- 
cious or efhcacious in the average pupil, and thus ensure 
a greater measure of success. 

Several lines of investigation were pursued by the 
writer with reference to the power of observation and 
the deiiniteness with which impressions were made upon 
the memory, and through which sense the more lasting 
impressions were made, the eye or the ear. There was 
no particular effort made to compare the results of mem- 
ory from muscular resistance with results obtained through 
eye and ear. The investigations sought rather to make 
a comparative study of these two senses. 

First Investigation 

For the first investigation, Professor Ebbinghaus' tests, 
in modified form, were used. Three tests were given: 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 133 

the first, an ear or auditory test, the second, an eye or 
visual test, the third, a combination of ear and eye or 
audo- visual test. 

The auditory test v^^as made by slowly and distinctly 
naming before the pupils each letter of such meaning- 
less ten-letter words as follows: grynophisk, etc. Ten 
such words were used, none of which were seen by the 
pupils. The letters were pronounced slowly and dis- 
tinctly and at the close of each word, the pupils were 
requested to write immediately each letter named, and 
in the order named. To the third and fourth grades, 
the letters of live such words were named, and -to the 
fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grades, the letters of 
ten such words. 

For the visual and audo-visual t'ests, cards were printed 
in large enough type to be read across the room, and 
similar meaningless ten-letter words were used. For the 
third and fourth grades the words were divided by a 
hyphen, as "halep-mirus," and five such used. In the 
fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grades, ten such words 
without the hyphen were used. 

In the visual test, each card was held up before the 
pupils for a few moments, then turned down, and then 
the command given to write. In making this test, it 
was necessary in every room to check the tendency on 
the part of pupils to whis|)cr to themselves the letters 
at which they were looking. This was planned for a 
visual or seeing test, unaided by any of the other senses, 
so pupils were prohibited from using their lips. In spite 
of all the cautions given them, they would unconsciously 
give way to this evidently strong tendency lo whisper 
the letters over to themselves. 



134 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

As the pupils in every room where this test was made 
gave the same evidence in their unsuccessful attempts 
to repress the strong tendency or inclination to use their 
lips, some interesting questions were suggested. Why 
did the pupils so generally and so persistently use their 
lips? There was no evidence of wishing to be annoying 
or disobedient. Practically all manifested this tendency. 
Shall we say it was therefore natural? And if natural, 
should it be suppressed? If natural, doesn't it guar- 
antee that that is just what the pupils should do to help 
themselves in the best way? Are all natural tendencies 
helpfuj? Do they unerringly point out the best methods 
in education ? Should the teacher ever disregard or w^ork 
in opposition to these natural tendencies? Are the likes 
and dislikes of children safe indications or guides as to 
what should or should not enter into their course of 
training ? 

. We are not ready to give an affirmative reply to all 
these questions. Even though wt might concede that 
nature usually wisely points the way, and that we should 
carefully investigate her leadings, yet another question 
misfht be raised: Are all these common likes and dislikes 
natural? The average child is a very complex combina- 
tion of natural, inherited and developed tendencies. 
Who shall distinguish the natural from the acquired 
tendencies? But we are ready to adriiit that this ten- 
dency to whisper is probably nature's plan to re-enforce 
the impressions of sight by adding those of sound. 

In the audo-visual test, the appeal was made to both 
eye and ear through holding each card in sight while 
pupils named each letter in concert, and then the command 
was given to write. 



in the school-room 135 

Results 
Seven hundred forty-three pupils were thus tested with 
the following results: 

In the auditory test, 44.8 per cent. 

In the visual t€st, 66.2 per cent. 

In the audo-visual test, 73.7 per cent. 

It will be noticed that the lowest per cent^ of the letters 
recalled was by the auditory test, forty-four and eight- 
tenths per cent. In the appeal to the eye alone, the 
average reached sixty-six and two-tenths per cent, or an 
increase of twenty-one and four-tenths per cent. In 
other words, twenty-one and four-tenths per cent more 
letters were correctly recalled when the appeal was made 
alone to the eye, than to the ear. In the appeal to the 
eye and ear combined, the audo-visual test, the per cent 
of letters recalled was seventy-three and seven-tenths, or 
an increase of seven and five-tenths per cent over the 
visual test, and ah increase of twenty-eight and nine- 
tenths per cent over the auditory test. In other words, 
seven and five-tenths per cent more letters were correctly 
recalled when the appeal was made to the eye and ear 
combined, than when made to the eye alone, and twenty- 
eight and nine-tenths per cent more than when made to 
the ear alone. 

Another Test 

Before attempting to summarize the conclusions to which 
the first test seemed to point, another test was undertaken 
along a somewhat different Hne, anticipating that its 
results might prove corroborative of results in the first. 

It would seem that accurate observation should have 
some bearing upon correct spelling. The pupil who can 



136 



STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 



observe a number of objects and afterwards name them 
accurately, ought to be able to observe the letters in a 
word and also name them accurately. 

Acting on this suggestion, ten objects, varying in size 
from a pair of shears to a pen, were placed in a box and 
each pupil was given the opportunity of looking into the 
box for a few moments as the box was passed by an 
attendant. Immediately the pupil began to write out 
the list of objects which he had s'een. 

The test was made in fourth, fifth, sixth, -seventh, and 
eighth grades, numbering in all two hundred six pupils. 
Each grade was then equally divided into the best and 
poorest spellers, basing the division on the teacher's 
record, and a comparison made between these divisions. 

Comparisons 
The followinsr was the result: 









a 


•Si 


c 


•Sg 


Grades 


Number 




Sic M 

* — .5 
a=\ 


§1i 




i.ss 








<lg- 


^^1 


^11 






r Best spellers 


20 


92. g 


48-5 


95 


50 


Fourth 


< Poorest spellers 


20 


78.6 


44 


80 


40 




( Difference 




H-3 


4-5 


15 


10 




r Best spellers 


23 


86.8 


56.1 


85 


60 


Fifth 


< Poorest spellers 


23 


68. s 


48.3 


75 


50 




( Difference 




18.3 


7.8 


ID 


ID 




( Best spellers 


30 


91.6 


59-5 


90 


60 


Sixth 


< Poorest spellers 


?9 


73-2 


54-8 


75 


50 




1 Difference 




18.4 


4-7 


13 


10 




r Best spellers 


15 


91. 1 


63-3 


90 


60 


Seventh 


< Poorest spellers 


15 


78.9 


56-7 


80 


50 




( Difference 




12.2 


5-6 


10 


10 




fBest spellers 


16 


85-4 


60 


85 


60 


Eighth 


•j Poorest spellers 


15 


74-1 


54-4 


75 


60 




( Difference 




11-3 


5-6 


10 






( Best spellers 


104 


89.8 


56.2 


89. 1 


58.1 


Totals 


< Poorest spellers 


102 


74-1 


52.2 


76.7 


40.5 




i Difference 




^5-7 


4.0 


12.4 


8.6 



* ^'Icdium standing, according to Dr. Oilhert. is more accurate than average standiDi 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 



137 



It will be seen from the foregoing table, that the results 
of the comparison between the best and poorest spellers 
in their powers of observation are not decisive, vet the 
fact that the best spellers, averaging twelve and four- 
tenths per cent higher in their spelling, also averaged 
eight and six-tenths per cent higher in the observation 
test, furnishes a fair basis for the inference that there 
is a close relation between accurate observation and 
correct spelling. 

Causes of Poor Spelling 

The writer's investigation and information lead him 
to conclude that poor spelling is largely due to inabihty 
to picture the word correctly and promptly in the "mind's 
eye," and that this inabihty is largely due to careless or 
weak observation. Habits of inattention or lack of con- 
centration have much to do in rendering futile the poor 
speller's efforts at mastery. Defective vision is often a 
very serious handicap. Because a pupil does not possess 
normal eyesight, he sees imperfectly, inaccurately; the 
letters in the word and their right order are not taken 
in, so when he attempts to recall the word, by flashing it 
before his "mind's eye," the picture is not vivid enough, 
is incomplete, and he becomes confused as to the ktttrs 
in the word and their order. 

A few examples of actual errors perpetrated by fourth 
grade pupils are here submitted as illustrative of this class. 

As simple a word as "poetry" was distorted or tor- 
tured into the following forms: potry, poeltry, peotry, 
proty, proity. 

A little fourth grade girl wrote, "I am very bussy." 

A boy ([uoted: 



138 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

"Here hath been dawning, 
Another blew day. 
Thing with thou let 
Spil usless away." 

Another difficulty presented, is the erratic use of let- 
lers in the formation of English words. The pronunci- 
ation of a word usually furnishes but little clue how 
to spell it correctly. The frequent use of silent letters 
hopelessly baffles those who are ear-minded. A few 
cases in point: 

A fourth grade boy, quoting a line from "Woodman, 
Spare That Tree," wrote, "Tuch not a sinlge bow." 
Another spelled "mezills" for "measles," "toon" for 
"tune." The word "vedshtobles," which evidently 
stands in a class by itself, puzzled the teacher for some 
time, but she finally made a shrewd guess that the word 
vegetables was the one intended. 

That inabihty to picture the word correctly and 
promptly in the "mind's eye," is one of the chief 
causes of poor spelling, seems to have corroboration 
from Superintendent Parkinson of Amherst, Massa- 
chusetts, who made an investigation of the difficulties 
in teaching spelling to the blind and deaf. He reported 
after hearing from a limited number of schools devoted 
to the teaching of such defectives, that the superin- 
tendents were almost unanimous in stating that there 
is serious difficulty in teaching the blind to spell, and 
but little, if any difficulty, in teaching the deaf to spell. 

Conclusions 

We recognize the danger of hasty generalizations or 
conclusions, but it would seem that these tests warrant 



IX THE SCHOOL-ROOM 139 

the conclusion that in teaching spclhng, the appeal to 
the eye is productive of much better results than the 
appeal to the ear. The average child retains more from 
visual than auditory impressions. He is at present more 
eye-minded than ear-minded. It is therefore safe to con- 
clude that in the preparation of his spelling lesson, we 
must lead him to appeal as strongly as possible to his 
sense of sight and develop his power of visualization. 

In the primary grades the spelling lesson should be 
studied with the assistance of the teacher at the black- 
board. Words should be written, shown for a moment, 
and then erased or hidden and the children write. This 
will vividly impress form, train the power of visualizing 
and also bring in the aid of the muscular sense. Visual- 
izing exercises in number work will also re-enforce this 
work in spelling. 

Then, too, the additional appeal to car, m having the 
pupils name or sound into their owti ears through oral 
concert spelling, will aid many. This has its dangers, 
as all concert work has, of drifting into a lifeless, im- 
pressionless, foUow-the-leader style of exercise. 

Provision should also be made in all grades to vary 
the spelling recitations by requiring about two-fifths of 
them to be given orally, with syllabication and pronun- 
ciation of syllables. The upper grades can utihze most 
of the suggestions made for the primary grades, and in 
addition, make plans by which they can best impress 
the form of the word, such as using a card to cover up 
the word in the book, after carefully looking at it, and 
testing their mental picture of it, picking out and em- 
phasizing the part of the word usually misspelled, re- 
viewing at regular intervals the words misspelled, etc. 



140 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

Believing, as the writer does, in the development of 
eye-mindedness, and accurate observation, he holds that 
nature study is tending to improve our spelling. It is 
not too much to expect that the child taught to observe 
carefully and describe accurately the objects of nature, 
Mrill also be able to observe carefully and describe more 
accurately than now {i.e., spell) the letters in a word, 
and thus become a better reader and speller. 

If the orthography of our language were purely phonic, 
then the appeal should be made chiefly to the ear, and 
oral spelling would be the most helpful exercise, but 
with our orthography so erratically constituted, we must 
appeal chiefly to the eye, and through it to the picturing 
power, and plan to develop the power of accurate word 
picturing. 



CHAPTER Xir 

QUESTIONS OF GRAMMAR GRADE PUPILS 
Thought Reading 

There are whisperings in the air that the wizard Edi- 
son is engaged, with some prospect of success, in devising 
a machine that will register a man's thought ere he has 
revealed it in speech. In these days of startling inven- 
tions and discoveries, it is unwise to attempt to set any 
limits to man's achievements. Edison has devised so 
many marvelous mechanisms, that \ve are ready to be- 
lieve that if he has seriously undertaken this difficult 
task, he will eventually accomplish it. 

There are some amusing thoughts that the possibility 
of such an invention suggests. Our thoughts read as 
they are flashing through our minds and before they arc 
given utterance? Where would our secrets be? Where 
our mental protests in which we so frequently indulge 
ourselves? How could the pupil, with eye studiously 
on book, conceal his mind-wandering from the Argus- 
eyed genius of the school-room? This Argus-eyed 
teacher could then study mental action and re-action 
in the same manner that the chemist does chemical re- 
actions in his laboratory. Merely verbal reactions would 
no longer deceive and mislead the teacher. What a 
positive science pedagogy would then become. For the 
present, however, we must get at those thoughts in some 

less direct way. 

141 



142 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

It is a well-known fact that pupils in grammar grades 
think some very strange thoughts, and indulge at times 
in erratic conduct. They are experiencing the onset of 
new desires, new emotions, arising out of the develop- 
ment of the sex feeling. Some unwise, or at least strange, 
thinking is aroused. The vagaries of this period are to 
be treated with much patience and consideration. In 
the minds of these grammar grade pupils are springing 
up some longings, some capricious ideas, some peculiar 
queries which seriously disturb their ordinary tenor of 
thought and action, but unwise reticence on these, as 
well as on other important questions, is their usual atti- 
tude, and their silence is often interpreted and misunder- 
stood. Thought reading direct, were it possible, would 
aid materially in a better understanding of these gram- 
mar grade pupils, but for the present we must wait for 
the results of Mr. Edison's inventive skill. 

Avenue for Perplexing Questions 
It was beheved, that under present conditions, a better 
understanding could be fostered between teachers and 
pupils, were the opportunity afforded the latter to ask 
]:)crplexing questions of some one competent to answer. 
Under the guise of a language exercise, such questions, 
with the reasons for asking them, were invited from 
sixty sixth grade pupils, two hundred twenty-two seventh, 
and one hundred eighteen eighth grade pupils, or four 
hundred grammar grade pupils in all. The plan adopted 
was to send to each room to be tested the following notice : 

An Exercise in the Use of Language 
Please present to your pupils, as a test in the use of 
language, the following exercise; 



in: the SCMOOl.-ROOM 14;^ 

As a preliminary, request each pupil to place his name, 
grade, and number of room at the head of the sheet used. 

Place the following question on the board and request 
your pupils to take time to think over carefully before 
committing them to paper, what questions they would 
wish to ask under the conditions named. 

Question. Suppose you had the opportunity to ask 
five questions of some one who knew everything, what 
five questions would you ask? 

State after each question your chief reason for asking it. 

While the teachers were requested to treat this primarily 
as a language exercise, yet they were also informed that 
the exercise had a deeper purpose. It was hoped that 
some of the pupils, at least, would disclose some of the 
thoughts and questions which were perplexing them, 
and thus assist in giving the teachers that deeper insight 
into the inner life of each pupil which is so essential in 
planning for his best development. The' motives and 
interests which prompt a pupil to ask, "Will people 
become more skeptical in regard to God and religion as 
time goes on?" or "Why do people who have plenty of 
money spend it fooHshly when they could be doing good 
with it?" are very different from those which prompt 
another pupil to ask, "Why do some people who have 
enough money to last them for life, work hard ? " or "How 
can 1 buy and sell stock so that I will never lose?" 

Glimpses were given of widely different traits of char- 
rctcr by the way in which this supposed opportunity to 
ask questions of some one who knew everything was 
treated. One was profoundly impressed and sought to 
use this supreme opportunity by presenting the weighti- 
est questions which have confronted him, and asked: 



144 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

"What is eternity?" "What is the most important 
thing to accomphsh in hfe?" Another manifested sim- 
ply idle curiosity, and inquired: "Who were the first 
people who made up manners and politeness and why 
did they make such funny ones?" "Who named the 
different animals?" And another failed to grasp the 
thought of the possibility of great enrichment and flip- 
pantly asked: "How many snow-flakes fall in an hour 
in a big snow-storm?" "How many pounds will all 
the water in Lake Superior weigh?" It is a depressing 
fact that in the school-room, as elsewhere, golden oppor- 
tunities, supposed and real, are frittered away. 

Summary of Questions 

In the main the f|uestions asked and their reasons 
therefor had the right motives behind them, had the 
right ring to them. They were generally sane and 
wholesome. It was anticipated that some questions 
would be trifling, but it can be said that out of nearly 
two thousand questions asked, only a few were of a 
trifling nature. They covered a wide range of topics 
and many of them were highly interesting and sugges- 
tive, indicating that the pupils were wide awake and in 
touch with the world's doings. A somewhat loose classi- 
fication of their scope is presented in the following: 



in the school-room 
Tabulation of Questions 



145 



Topics 


8 th 
Grade 


7 th 
Grade 


6 th 
Grade 


Totals 


Civics 

Current Events 

Discoveries 

Education 

Geography 

History 

Inventions 

Language and Literature 

Mining and Minerals 

Miscellaneous 

Natural Science 

Occupations 

Physiology 

Religion 

Wars 


53 
40 
24 
26 

14 
98 

71 
16 
II 
28 
16 
10 
9 
23 
127 


61 
62 
22 
89 
216 

"5 
49 
60 

54 
85 
85 
30 
II 

39 
116 


I 
22 

5 
12 

65 

48 

7 

-5 

23 

17 

13 

• 6 

2 

7 

43 


115 
124 

51 
127 

295 
261 
127 
lOI 

88 

130 

114 

46 

22 

69 
286 


Totals 


. 566 


1094 
222 


296 


1956 


Number of Pupils 


118 


60 


400 



Nearly half the questions pertained to school subjects, 
but not such as might be termed text-book questions. 
It evidenced the fact that school life and school problems 
are more closely allied witli the world's experiences out- 
side of the school-room than formerly. The school life 
of to-day more nearly parallels the world's life, is more 
vitally linked with it, than ever before, much to the 
increased profit of school work. This vital connection 
and deep interest have been fostered greatly by the study 
of current events. Nearly every progressive school to- 
day provides for the utilization of current-events material 
in the work in geography, nature study, civics, history, 
language, through the introduction into tlic school-room 
of such papers as The Little Chronicle, The Week's Cur- 
rent, etc. , 

Over one-fifth of the questions were along current- 



:i46 STII13I1<:S AND OBSERVATIONS 

event lines, as shown in the table under Current Events 
and Wars. A separate class was made of Wars in order 
to ascertain how many c^uestions were asked alone about 
the Russo-Japanese War. Practically all of the two 
hundred eighty-six cjuestions classed under Wars were 
inquiries concerning the results of the Russo-Japanese 
War, and practically all were in deepest sympathy with 
the plucky Japs. 

Questions pertaining to geography came second in 
number. Over fifteen per cent of all the questions were 
on geographical topics. If we are to assume that the 
subject that called forth the largest number of questions, 
is the most interesting to the pupils, then geography is 
the most interesting among school subjects. It certainly 
is a thought stimulating subject, as the number and 
character of the questions concerning it give evidence. 
Here are a few of them: "Are volcanoes of any good?'' 
"Why is the earth made up of three-fourths water and 
one-fourth land?" "What hrst started latitude and 
longitude?" 

History came next in the Hst, inspiring more than 
thirteen per cent of all the questions. These ranged 
from "Why was President McKinlcy assassinated?" to 
"How are pictures of ancient heroes gotten?" One 
pupil seemed inclined to discredit the foundations of 
early history by asking, "What do people know what 
happened hundredths of years ago?" 

The subjects of civics, education, inventions, language 
and literature, and natural science inspired in each case 
about the same number of questions. Under civics were 
found such questions: "Why must we ha»ve a government 
and why must we obey it?" "Which will be the first 



IX THE SCHOOL-ROOM 147 

nation to change its form of government?" Under edu- 
cation, questions like these were asked: "What is the 
most important branch of study?" "Where did you 
(the one who knows everything) receive all your learn- 
ing?" In inventions, they ran as follows: "Will Edison 
succeed in making that machine to read thought?" 
"What is the greatest thing ever invented?" In lan- 
guage and literature, such as the following were typical: 
"How did Webster know the meaning of all the words 
in the English language?" "Who found out first the 
use of each word in a sentence?" "What good books 
ought we to read and what ought we not to read?" Un- 
der natural science, such as these were asked: "Why do 
apples and such things fall instead of rise?" "What is 
thunder?" "What do the stars look like near by?" 

Results Attained 

A highly interesting and profitable language exercise 
was thus afforded the pupils. 

Many of the pupils were drawn out of their customary 
and somewhat monotonous channels of school- room 
thought, and felt something of the inspiration and stimu- 
lation which comes from utilizing fresh thought material. 
They were intensely interested by this injection of fresh 
material into their school work, and excitedly asked each 
other at the first opportunity, "What questions did you 
ask?" Both teachers and pupils caught the inspiration 
of this departure from the too frequent humdrum exer- 
cises of the school- room. 

The deeper interests of the pupils, those not usually 
called forth in the routine work, were thus revealed to 
the alert teachers. A vein of seriousness or frivolity, 



148 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

not suspected before, was disclosed in some cases. For 
a simple, brief language exercise, it had a surprisingly 
stimulating and wholesome effect on all participating 
in it. 

Characteristic Questions 

It only remains to give some of the characteristic 
c|uestions with the reasons assigned for asking them. 
For convenience in studying them, they are grouped 
according to grades, but without any further attempt 
at classification. A careful study of these questions and 
the reasons assigned, will prove fertile in suggestions 
to any grammar grade teacher. 

(A) Sixth-Grade Pupils — Average Age, 13 
What causes the rise and fall of the tide ? This was 
never fully explained to me." 

"Can iron wheels, like they have on cars, be made out 
of paper? A boy said they were, and I did not know 
whether to believe it." 

"How did they divide the United States into states? 
I do not understand how they can tell where each state 
ends." 

"Is the poem of 'Evangeline' true? The end of the 
poem seems as though it might not be." 

"When is Decumpsy (Tecumseh) shares going up? 
I have some shares in it." 

"What am I going to be when I'm out in life? I 
want to know." 

"Why did we have this test? It is very different from 
the others.' 

"How many cubic feet of snow fell this winter? I 
don't think you can answer it without finding out." 



IN THE SCHpOL-ROO^I x49 

*'What great arthor (author) wrote ' Shakespeare ' ? 
It is a beautiful play and I take so much interest in it." 

"Why did Longfellow write 'Evangeline'? I did not 
think he cared for a love story." 

"How many square miles are there in all the world? 
I want to see if you knew." 

"How did you come to know everything? I would 
like to Imow so that I would be like you." 

"What are the names of all the people in all the cities 
in the United States? It would help me if I were trav- 
eling." 

"If you bought ten million dollars worth of two-cent 
stamps, how many times would you go around the world ? 
Because it is a hard example." 

"What first started latitude and longitude? I have 
thought and thought but could not think it out." 

(B) Seventh-Grade Pupils — Average Age, 13.5. 

"How many snowflakes fall in an hour in a big snow- 
storm? I think it would be very wonderful to know." 

"In the coming spring, do you think United States 
could win from England? I want the United States 
to win so that it may be so left alone that it may be in 
piece." 

"Why do not all the mines let all the men have a day 
of worship on Thanksgiving Day? This has been on 
my mind for the last two Thanksgiving Days, for the men 
had to work on that sacred day. I think it is very wrong, 
for did not the proclamation say that every one should 
be without work and worship God?" 

"How long was Joseph in prison? I want to know 
more about Jesus' father." 



150 STUDIES AND . OBSERVATIONS 

"How was the earth formed? I see it every day of 
my hfe and do not know how it was formed." 

"How did our ancestors get their last name when there 
was no one who had their name before them? I have 
often thought about it and asked people, but I cannot 
find out." 

"What am I going to do when I am grown up? xt 
would be nice to know and perhaps we would be more 
industrious and could do a little preparing for it." 

"What is going on in my body every day? When I 
am sick I would know the cause and would be more 
careful what I eat and drink." 

"How could they find the circumference of the earth 
when nobody went through the earth to measure it?" 

"How long would it take you if you took a step-ladder 
and climbed to the sky, and how far is it? It seems so 
far away and still as you look at it, it seems near." 

"Do you think that the earth is really round and that 
we live on the outside of the globe?" 

"Why do people think there is a north pole? If there 
was one I should think it would have been discovered 
before this." 

"Why docs President Roosevelt let the Hquor trade 
go on? I think it is spoiling some of the larger cities. 
Roosevelt could stop it." 

"Who found out first the use of each word in a sentence ? 
I study grammar every day and use the words. That 
person must have been pretty smart who found it out." 

"When will children stop believing there is a Santa 
Claus? Christmas will not be of much fun then for the 
people or the children." 

"How are pictures of the ancient heroes gotten? I 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM . 151 

don't see how they could be taken when they had no 
kodaks or cameras in those days." 

"Why are all the large bodies of water bordering 
United States? Why isn't there any large bodies of 
water in the centre part ? " 

"Why were not all the continents together in one 
piece of land? I come to ask it because it is funny to 
be scattered." 

"What causes the sun to shine? It stays bright for 
a thousand years." 

"When will the end of the world come? Because I 
am afraid of my hfc." 

"Why does the United States want to build the Panama 
Canal? Why is it so important?" 

"Why do some of the states have such curious boun- 
daries? Because I am curious about it." 

"Why do they have so many different religions, like 
Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian? I don't see why they 
don't have it all of one kind." 

"Is a Jew a Catholic or a Protestant? I have often 
wondered about it." 

"Are heaven and spirit around us? I have heard 
they are and that they are not. I wanted to know if 
people's souls went a long distance or not." 

"Why doesn't the United States try to take every piece 
of land she can, like Russia? Russia is always trying 
to get more and more." 

"Why are there not so many good people now as in 
the time when Christ lived? People don't seem to care 
very much. They go to church every Sunday but most 
of them are not much better for it." 

"Did Evangeline live so very long after slic met Ga- 



152 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

briel? I want to know if they were happy again, or if 
they both died broken-hearted." 

"Why don't territories become states before they have 
a population of two thousand? I should think that one 
thousand people could take care of all the land." 

"What is the most important branch of study? Be- 
cause it has often been quarreled over in my presence 
and I want to know who is right." 

"Where did Hiawatha go when he sailed west and 
what became of him? I have read the poem over and 
over and wondered if he went into the west and died," 

"What is outside the world? I wonder what holds 
the world up, or if it rests on anything?" 

"Why did they have the Declaration of Independence? 
I thought the people were free before it came." 

"In what way did the Egyptians embalm their dead 
kings? I intend to be an undertaker some day and 
want to know about it." 

"What keeps the earth from having a collision with 
some other body flying about in the air? I don't see 
why we don't hit the moon." 

"Who were the first people who made up manners and 
politeness and why did they make such funnyones ? I often 
wonder why men always take off their hats to ladies and 
ladies never do to men. I always thought it was not fair 
for them to take so much bother and the ladies not to." 

"Where do vegetarians live? Because United States 
would naturally get her vegetables from there." 

"What did Evangeline sail up the river for, when she 
knew that Gabriel would be an old man and would not 
marry her? I don't sec why she would rather sail up 
the river than go with anybody else." 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 153 

(A) Seventh-Grade Pupils — Average Age, 14 

"Why are some people's hair curly and other's 
straight? The negroes hair is curly and Indian's is 
straight. Some people belonging to neither race have 
curly and some straight." 

"Why cannot sugar dibetous be cured?" 

"What makes the world revolve? I don't see how it 
can go and go and never stop." 

"If a person tried to discover the north or south pole, 
how could he tell when he got there ? I don't see how 
he knew if he were there or not. There must be some 
way though." 

"Why do people who have plenty of money spend it 
foolishly when they could be doing good with it? How 
can they do it when they see people all around them 
suffering and dying because they have not enough money ? " 

"How can a man draw the picture of a continent? 
They cannot tell by just sailing around it." 

"Do the dead know anything?" 

"What is heaven hke?" 

"What makes the air look blue in the sky?" 

"Are there people living on the moon and stars? I 
am interested in air ships and want to know how they 
got there." 

"What is going to be the end of the world, if there is 
going to be any, and who are going to be the explorers?" 

"When two countries are in trouble, why don't they 
dispute the matter over instead of going to war? It 
would save the loss of lives and would not damage and 
destroy buildings." 

"Japan has made great progress in civilization, in a 



154 ' STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

few years, why did not China do the same? China had 
the same chance and yet Japan is smaller than China." 

"What country was found first?" 

"What good are post offices? Could we not send 
letters some other way?" 

"How does an insurance company get there profit? 
Because they give a certain amount each year and in 
ten years get there money back, if the person doesn't 
die." 

(B) Eighth-Grade Pupils — Average Age, 14.5 

"Is it right to make war on otlicr countries? This 
is a question that ought to be decided." 

"Why are some of the people of Africa canables?" 

"Why are Jews all business men? I have never seen 
one that worked without having something for sale." 

"What will the people do if all the wood and coal 
should give out? The forests in Michigan are nearly 
gone." 

"Why do the Pagans not believe as the Christians do? 
They are civilized enough to understand that there is a 
God but why don't they believe as we do?" 

"Why cannot all persons study the same? Why is it 
that one person can study better than another?" 

"Why do anarchists assassinate people when they know 
they are sure to be punished? It lias always puzzled 
me." 

"Why did Roosevelt receive more votes thanMcKinley ? 
I think McKinley was the greater man." 

"Do you think the time will ever come when all ques- 
tions will be settled by arbitration and armies will not be 
needed? Many people belic^'c it will coma true." 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 155 

"Will you idl me how to become as wise as you are so 
I will know everything? Then I could answer any ques- 
tion I want to know myself." 

"Will it be possible to invent a machine so that you 
can see the person to whom you are talking through the 
telephone? I have heard that such a machine is being 
made." 

"Why do so few people in the United States side with 
the Democratic Party? I think if the Democrats were 
in power e\'erything would be much lower than what 
they arc." 

"To what race do the Finnish people belong? I am 
Finnish myself." 

"Which is the greater, Edison or Shakespeare? Be- 
cause one was great in literature and one in electricity. 
Which is doing the most good in the world?" 

"Why does the earth revolve from west to east, instead 
of revolving from east to west? It seems to me it could 
go that way as well as the other." 

"Can the dead hold communion with the living? 
There are many books and papers written on that sub- 
ject but there isn't any satisfaction in reading them." 

"Where do people go when they die? Some think 
they wander about the earth, but are invisible to men." 

"Why do the Chinese persist in wearing a cue? No 
matter where they are one cannot persuade them to cut 
it off. In this way they differ from the Japanese. Is 
it a custom, a religious belief, or what is it?" 

"Don't you think it would l^e pleasant to carry your 
fresh air around in your pocket?" 

"Why do men study the stars? Because they are 
always the same and don't make any difference to us." 



156 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

"How am I going to leave the world? Am I going to 
be in debt, a cruel man, a kind man, or a man that the 
people will mourn for?" 

"How can copper be hardened? Because the man 
that finds it v/ill receive one million dollars." 

"If the entire circumference is 25,000 miles, what is 
the circumference of the sky? I want to know which 
is the larger and how much?" 

"What use has the appendicitis in the human body? 
It seems to cause more misery than good to mankind. 
I have asked doctors but none are able to answer the 
question." 

"Do you think the photography of the mind will be 
a success? Teachers could tell then whether Ave were 
studying or not." 

(.4) Eighth-Grade Pupils — Average Age, 1^ 

"Will the plans I make now for my future be carried 
out? If I knew exactly they would be fulfilled, I v/ould 
know more what plans I want to make." 

"What is eternity? The more I think of it, the more 
I become mixed up, and I would like to have it straight- 
ened out." 

"Has the United States reached the highest point of 
its greatness as a nation? As an American I am inter- 
ested in the welfare of our country." 

"What will the air ship be used for? It is a great 
invention but has no definite use but to sail around in 
the air." 

"How can people draw the exact shape of a country? 
I do not know any way that they can see the exact shape 
and locate where the mountains are, etc." 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 157 

"Will people become more skeptical in regard to God 
and religion as time goes on? They seem to be doing 
so now." 

"What is the shape of a star? What are the stars 
made for?" 

"Did Shakespeare or Bacon write the world's famous 
plays and tragedies? There is a doubt as to who did 
write them." 

"Do you think that the United States will ever have 
another war with England? I think if we do, that she 
will become one of our possessions." 



CHAPTER XIII 

THE SPIRIT OF CRITICISM 

Every careful observer of our present social life is 
impressed with the growing feeling of dissatisfaction 
with the present order of things, and with the disposi- 
tion manifest everywhere of indulging freely in criticism. 
Did this simply take on the form of ''divine discontent" 
with present attainments, and intelligently and con- 
scientiously seek the means by which higher attainment 
might be achieved, it ought to be hailed by everyone as 
the sure harbinger of great progress. Unfortunately, 
however, this spirit of criticism, when directed towards 
the public schools — and this is the field we wish briefly 
to discuss — is too frequently devoid of the character- 
istics of helpfulness and an honest desire to improve 
educational conditions. 

Criticism Rife 

Since our government was conceived in the spirit of 
protest and defiance against the tyranny of Great Britain, 
it is not surprising that we, in later years, should show 
signs of unduly exalting the spirit of criticism. Whether 
it be due to the circumstances which surrounded the 
birth of our form of government, whether the early spirit 
of criticism, protest and denunciation was caught and 
intensified during these years of national existence and 
growth, or whether it sprang up later, unduly fostered by 
158 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 159 

the spirit of our free institutions, and the belief that 
criticism was one of the inahcnable rights of the Ameri- 
can citizen, it is not the province of this chapter to de- 
termine. But no careful student of our present social 
life will deny that there has not been developed a growing 
spirit of dissatisfaction and criticism. Particularly is this 
true with reference to the public schools. 

The teacher is frequently reminded of that famihar 
statement, "Life is a see-saw. Now we go up, up, up, 
and now we go down, down, down." The average 
teacher sees so many inconsistencies, is chmbing over 
so many barriers which never ought to be placed in her 
way, is subjected to so much contradictory but usually 
adverse criticism, that she needs to pray constantly for 
grace to look on the bright side and to keep the "ups" 
of life's see-saw in her field of vision. 

Contrasts 

Note the contrasts in the favorable and unfavorable 
criticisms upon the teacher and her work. They run 
something after this fashion: "There is a surprising 
transformation going on in our school-rooms, which 
would excite the greatest admiration and wonder, were 
it not so familiar. It is the transformation of that un- 
fortunate class of pupils whose home life is largely made* 
up of parental indifference and neglect." 

"Under her intelligent and sympathetic guidance, the 
unkempt boy, long before he reaches the high school 
becomes neat and cleanly. His awkwardness and rude- 
ness have disappeared. He walks erect with a manly 
air. He is no longer vulgar and quarrelsome, but polite 
and courteous. His intense selfishness has been modi- 



i6o STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

fied by the wholesome doctrine, constantly impressed 
upon him, that others in the school-room have rights, 
which he is bound to respect. In addition, he begins to 
have glimpses of the great truth that selfishness is un- 
wise and that his own best interests are best conserved 
when he is working for the general good. Disobedience, 
therefore, disappears; hearty co-operation and wise self- 
direction and self-control take its place. It is not an 
exaggerated or overdrawn statement, therefore, that the 
weal or woe, not only of such neglected children, but 
also the weal or woe of the commonwealth, aye, even 
that of the nation itself, is largely committed into the 
hands of the devoted teachers of this country." 

As we read this, we feel our end of the see-saw rapidly 
rising, and we are possessed with an exhilarating, up- 
lifting, inspiring sensation. With what complacency we 
view the world in general, and the other professions in 
particular. What an honor to belong to the profession 
that is chiefly responsible for safe-guarding and main- 
taining our nation's priceless liberties. 

During our delightful indulgence of our self-compla- 
cency, our end of the see-saw has risen so high, that we 
are seriously contemplating a permanent position on 
some near by pedestal, from which we can serenely look 
down upon our less fortunate workers in other profes- 
sions. But before accomplishing such an achievement, 
a discordant note strikes our ears, much to our aston- 
ishment and discomfiture. We fondly imagined we were 
about to be apotheosized, but instead find ourselves in 
the unhappy situation of being anathematized, and down, 
down goes our end of the see-saw. 

We have ample time to philosophize over the muta- 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM i6i 

bility of human affairs, the fickleness of pubhc opinion, 
and the wisdom couched in that old saying, ''Let him 
that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall," as we 
listen to the following utterances: 

"You think you are the guardians of our Hberties. 
You arrogate to yourselves the making of good, intelli- 
gent citizens, when in fact you are putting such intoler- 
able burdens upon the youth of our land that you are 
ruining the health of countless thousands and consigning 
them to premature graves. This is the 'Modern Mur- 
der of the Innocents,' and a National Crime with which 
you teachers are charged." 

We are stunned with the charge. We are rudely 
jarred with the terrific shock with which our end of the 
see-saw strikes the learth. It's a -long distance from top 
of pedestal to dusty earth, and yet we, in our descent, 
broke the records of modern rapid transit. Almost 
apotheosized a moment ago and now anathematized. 
Surely "this is a puzzlin' world." 

When our scattered wits resume their usual relations 
to each other, we begin to inquire, "Why should we be 
charged with such an awful crime? Are we not most 
profoundly interested in the children's well being? Do 
we not every day sacrifice for them? Are we not highly 
gratified when we see them succeed? And are we not 
greatly depressed over their failures and shortcomings? 
Do we not really come up to the requirements embodied 
in that legal phrase, defining our duties, in loco parentis.^ 
How then are wc open to such a monstrous charge?" 

Do our harsh critics know that the ills that child life 
is heir to, arc all to be traced back to the school-room? 
Are thcv not aware that our average school-room is far 



i62 S'lUDlKS AND OBSER\'.\TiONS 

better ventilated, its hygienic conditions far superior to 
the average home from which the school children come? 
But they charge that the curriculum is overcrowded and 
that the children's health is ruined by overpressure. 
Who overcrowded the curriculum, if such be the case? 
Has one single subject been placed in the curriculum 
which did not have the support of some progressive par- 
ents? Was it music? Was it drawing? Do any in- 
telligent parents want these subjects eliminated from the 
course now? 

On the other hand, there are those parents who say that 
more work and more thorough work should be done. It 
is devoutly to be hoped that those who charge overpressure 
and those who charge underpressure, will in the near 
future be pitted against each other, aild instead of making 
life a burden to the unfortunate teacher, may enter upon 
such a vigorous contest with each other, as will result in 
another striking illustration of the beneficent workings 
of that law called, "the survival of the fittest." 

After such reflections as the foregoing, which disclose 
the unfair attitude of our critics, we are in a frame of 
mind to long for a rehabilitation of our former dig- 
nity. Our end of the see-saw grows firmer under us, 
and manifests some tendencies to rise. 

And now come some grateful sentiments like these: 
"Under the guidance of the intelligent, sympathetic and 
devoted teacher, the public school system has come to 
be the main hope of the nation." 

"The work of the teacher reaches the family, exalts the 
home, pervades society with its ennobling influences, 
strengthens the foundations of the state and adds to the 
glory and magnificence of the nation." 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 163 

What satisfying music to our hungry ears! Our end 
of the see-saw is tilting heavenward again. But we shall 
not indulge in those ecstatic feehngs of superiority which 
were ours for such a brief period when we were nearly 
apotheosized. Another uplifting sentiment strikes our 
ears. "For the teacher cannot be a slave; she must 
think and act for herself. On her depends the training 
of the children of a free people; she rocks the cradle of 
the State. What profession is so noble, so sacred? All 
honor to the teacher." 

Honor and Adequate Salary 
Now, that seems to have the right ring to it. Let 
your imagination take wings again, and see the teacher 
rescued from her lowly estate and occupying her lofty 
pedestal. But sober second thought suggests that these 
may be only the catchy phrases of a Fourth of July 
orator, or of some small bore politician, who does not 
remember that about nine-tenths of our profession are 
not yet enfranchised. Somehow when we reflect over 
the munificent compensation so generously bestowed on 
the members of our "noble and sacred profession," the 
foregoing high sounding phrases have a decidedly hollow, 
empty sound. Where is the substantial evidence that 
our profession is so noble and sacred? 

Let us again quote those inspiring words of praise: "For 
the teacher cannot be a slave" ; on thirty dollars a month,* 
she is required to pay her own bills. But it must be 
confessed that to many a teacher is denied the glorious 
privilege accorded to Longfellow's village blacksmith: 

"And looks the whole world in the face, 
For he owes not any man." 

*Thc average monlhly wage in ihe Mirldle West. 



i64 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

Thus hampered, how can she inspire that feehng of 
independence and self-reHance in her pupils which is the 
glory of American citizenship? 

To quote further: "She must think and act for her- 
self." Yes, and incidentally board, clothe, and further 
educate herself on thirty dollars a month. If such a 
situation doesn't lead to some lively thinking and acting, 
pray, what will? Teachers all recognize the truth of 
that fundamental doctrine, that development comes alone 
through self-activity. How profoundly grateful we ought 
to be that every feature of our environment has been so 
wisely planned to arouse our self- activity and ensure 
for ourselves such rapid and continued growth in our 
profession, "so noble and so sacred." 

Again, "She rocks the cradle of the State." This is 
an unfortunate figure of speech, well meant, no doubt, 
but misleading. It is well known that everybody can 
rock a cradle, because everybody was subjected to the 
rocking process in infancy. The simple supposition is 
that each child, as he enters the realms of somnolency, 
keeps one eye wide open, watching the rocking process, 
for fear that that process may otherwise become a lost 
art. In so far as this brilhant figure of speech suggests 
that both teaching and rocking are essential to the per- 
petuity of the State, it may be tolerated, but v/hen it 
suggests that teaching and rocking are equally simple 
operations, and that any one, therefore, can teach a 
primary school, we are compelled to caution our orator 
about his misleading use of figures of speech. 

To quote one more: "What profession is so noble 
and so sacred? All honor to the teacher!" We surely 
can heartily subscribe to this peerless peroration, this 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM i6^ 

glorious sentiment, "All honor to the teacher," for ha-^^e 
we not often found ourselves at the end of the year, when 
we struck a trial balance, in this situation, all honor and 
but httle else? While we profoundly appreciate the 
honor paid our profession, yet we are not such ethereal 
creatures that we can thrive and give the children the 
strong service due them on a paltry thirty dollars a month 
and all honor thrown in. After reflecting calmly over 
our orator's catchy phrases, we scarcely loiow whether 
to regard our end of the see-saw as up or down. 

Nothing more need be written to set forth the fact 
that criticism is in the air, that it is capricious and often 
captious; yes, even at times unfair, unjust and harmful. 
But while we may, at times, smart under it, indulge in 
some righteous indignation against it, for escape-valve 
purposes, yet in the main we ought to recognize the 
helpful side of it. 

Self Criticism Valuable 

The world owes Bobby Burns a great debt for having 
written more than a century ago, and under somewhat 
peculiar circumstances, the following wholesome and 
helpful hnes: 

"O wad some power the giftie gie us 
To see ourselves as ithers sec us; 
'Twould from mony a blunder frae us 
An' foolish notion." 

Self-criticism is not inspiring, and yet it is the most 
hopeful indication that improvement will be made. That 
we can be led to sit in faithful judgment upon ourscl\-es, 
upon our shortcomings, is one of the marks of true great- 



i66 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

ness. It marks the beginning of improvement which 
promises to continue through time and eternity. 

To develop this attitude of mind in her pupils, should 
be the foremost aim of the teacher. Until the pupil 
becomes somewhat self critical, his progress cannot prove 
satisfactory. He is simply the creature of his surround- 
ings. Let him once squarely face the fact that he has 
power to direct himself, even against adverse circum- 
stances, and he is brought face to face with another 
great fact, that he is responsible to himself for what he 
is, what he does, what he may become. Now, he notes 
his own language, his own conduct, whether it is in 
accord with that of the best standards. Eternity alone 
can reveal the distance he may travel along this line. 

•Self-criticism is even a greater factor in the develop- 
ment of the teacher, for she has the additional reason 
to travel this highway of improvement that she may 
know the way and point out clearly and definitely its 
advantages to her pupils. 

It is to be regretted that parents are so prone to criti- 
cise the teacher. Perhaps they hold the erroneous opin- 
ion that criticism is generally wholesome and stimulating, 
and like a patent medicine should be administered on 
general principles for the cure of all pedagogic ills. Per- 
haps they vainly imagine that their constant criticisms 
will tend to foster the helpful spirit of self-criticism in 
the teaching profession, but they should remember that 
individuals and professions, like nations, drop internal 
discussions and dissensions and present a united front 
against foreign invasion. Severe criticism from without is 
not promotive of criticism from within. It is not the most 
stimulating atmosphere for the growth of self-criticism. 



ix the school-room 167 

Co-operation Needed 

There is another side to this harsh spirit of criticism, 
which parents seem to lose sight of, and it is chiefly to 
call attention to this oversight that this chapter is written. 
The school is organized for the chief purpose of building 
up right character, for the transformation of the children 
into honest, obedient, intelligent, self-reliant citizens. 
The two classes most profoundly interested in the success 
of the school, in the progress of the children, are parents 
and teachers. Both parents and teachers are bound to 
these children by parental ties, the former by birth, the 
latter by legal enactment, to co-operate in building up 
right character, to train them up into honest, obedient, 
intelligent, self-reliant citizens. Parents have charge of 
more than two-thirds of the waking hours of their chil- 
dren; '.he teachers, less than one-third. Here is joint 
responsibility in accomphshing this wonderful trans- 
formation. 

Who are interested most in this transforming process? 
Will any one say that the teachers are less loyal and de- 
voted to the children, less considerate and kind, less in- 
telligent and thoughtful, less alive to their grave responsi- 
bihties than the parents? In their school-room work, 
are they not more alert to the gentle, subtle, silent in- 
fluences which tend to mould and shape character than 
the parents? Is not the average school-room of to-dav, 
from this point of view, better conducted than the aver- 
age home? The teachers of the twentieth century are 
alive to these subtle influences which mould and shape 
character. They have been studying the child, his 
thoughls and feelings, his longings, and have come into 



i63 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

very close touch with his aspirations and his emotional 
life. Out of this has come a profound sympathy and 
patience and a living companionship which has wonder- 
fully vitalized the work of the school-room. 

The typical twentieth century teacher realizes that 
right thinking, right feeling, right conduct, cannot be 
fostered in an unsympathetic atmosphere. Interest and 
enthusiasm, and sympathy and love and faith, emanating 
from the genuine teacher and filling the room with their 
stimulating influence and inspiring pupils to their noblest 
efforts, these are far more potent to mould and fashion 
character than rigid discipline and formal knowledge. 
"The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth Hfe." The 
twentieth century teacher is exalting the things of the 
spirit. 

Effect of Harsh Criticism 

But suddenly a harsh, chilling blast of criticism thrusts 
itself into this sympathetic, stimulating atmosphere which 
the teacher has inspired in her school-room. It is di- 
rected against the teacher. It chills the atmosphere at 
once. The sunshine has gone out of the teacher's face, 
for the criticism is undermining the confidence and faith 
which her pupils entertained towards her. With face 
blanched and nerves unstrung, she sees the shadows 
settling over her, and the sunshine departing from the 
faces of her children. How can she do her work, build 
right character, in such an unsympathetic atmosphere? 
What has so rudely disturbed her delightful companion- 
ship with her children? From whence has come this 
Ijlighting influence? From those above all others she 
bad a right to expect the heartiest and fullest co-opera- 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 169 

tion and sympathy, from the fathers and mothers of her 
children. 

Can it be that they are wholly insensible to the blight- 
ing influences they have set in motion ? Why should they 
thus thoughtlessly or maliciously harass, unnerve and 
unfit for her work the one who is entitled to their heartiest 
support, both for the relations she sustains to them 
under the law, and also as the leader and companion 
of their children? 

From a cold business standpoint, and ignoring entirely 
the humane point of view, it has come to be accepted 
generally, that to subject a mechanic to harsh criticism 
is to lessen in some degree the efficiency of his work. 
To keep him in a state of nervous tension for fear he 
may lose his job, is to impair the quality of his work. 
How much more, then, should the teacher, who deals not 
with soulless tools and machinery, but with tender, sen- 
sitive, impressionable minds, with delicate, susceptible, 
immortal souls, be shielded from harsh criticism and 
distracting iniluences. 

The teacher, because she deals with the things of the 
spirit, because she must enter into the lives of her pupils 
through sympathy, companionship , and faith, because 
she must build up self-reliance, self-control, mental poise 
in her pupils through her daily exemplification of these 
and other elements of character, should be freed, as far 
as possible, from every unnerving influence. 

It would also follow that Boards of Education should 
free, as far as possible, the teacher from perplexing 
doubts concerning her re-election and the embarrass- 
ments and annoyances arising from an inadequate 
salary. 



170 studies and observations 

Our Duty 

Possibly the writer's rather ironical tone at times may 
have given the impression that he is inclined to look at 
the teaching profession through pessimistic spectacles. 
Not so. While there are many annoyances in the teach- 
ing profession, and so there are in every profession, while 
these annoyances often originate among those who should 
Idc our most devoted and loyal friends and helpers, as 
in the case of so much harsh criticism on the part of 
parents, while the work is arduous and the financial 
returns meagre, and we sometimes worry over the lack of 
provision for a rainy day, yet the world is slowly mov- 
ing forward to a higher appreciation of the devoted, 
intelligent teacher's work. It is coming to believe the 
truth so well stated by a friendly critic: "Under guidance 
of the intelligent, sympathetic and devoted teacher, the 
pubHc school system has come to be the main hope of the 
nation." "The work of the teacher reaches the family, 
exalts the home, pervades society with its ennobling influ- 
ences, strengthens the foundations of the State and adds 
to the glory and magnificence of the Nation." 

It is quite evident, therefore, that in spite of adverse 
criticism and harassing difficulties, we must, in the Ian-, 
guage of James Whitcomb Riley, "keep a goin'." 

"If you strilce a thorn or rose. 

Keep a-goin'! 
If it hails or if it snows. 

Keep a-goin'! 
'Taint no use to sit and whine 
When the fish ain't on your line; 
Bait your hook and keep on tryin', 

Keep a-goin'! 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 171 

"When the weather kills your crop, 

Keep a-goin'! 
When you tumble from the top, 

Keep a-goin'! 
S'pose you're out o' every dime, 
Gettin' broke ain't any crime; 
Tell the world you're feelin' prime, 

Keep a-goin'! 

"When it looks like all is up. 

Keep a-goin' I 
Drain the sweetness from the cup, 

Keep a-goin' ! . 
See the wild birds on the wing. 
Hear the bells that sweetly ring, 
W'hen you feel hke sighing — sing! 

Keep a-goin'!" 



CHAPTER XIV 

OUTLINE OF A MANUAL TRAINING COURSE 

Manual Training Recognized 

Within the last decade, manual training has success- 
fully fought its way into the public school curriculum. 
Like music, drawing, and nature study, it was challenged 
to show cause why the already overcrowded curriculum 
should be enriched by further expansion and overload- 
ing. Strong was the opposition, severe were the criti- 
cisms, vigorous was the contest, but victory perched on 
its banner, and manual training in some form or other 
is now recognized in the curriculum of nearly every pro- 
gressive public school. The time has therefore passed 
when it is necessary to discuss its advantages and claims 
to recognition. 

Details of Course 

The more practical question is now, "What shall con- 
stitute the best course in manual training?" What ex- 
ercises or lines of work shall be required?" The scope 
of manual training is so broad, its possible application 
so unlimited, that to mark out the lines of work, the 
exact exercises which should be utilized, is an exceedingly 
difficult task. 

The writer, in revising the manual training course in 
his own system of schools, at Calumet, Mich., entered 
into a wide correspondence with different schools where 
172 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 17.3 

manual training was taught, and was surprised to learn 
how thoroughly at sea, how unsettled many were in 
regard to the best manual training course. Courses 
were largely in the formative stage. But few features 
were definitely settled. All were engaged in working 
out something more satisfactory, which they expected 
to formulate and print, as soon as some further tests 
could be apphed. 

In working out this revision of the manual training 
course in the Calumet schools, the writer called into 
council Mr. William R. Bradford, head of the Manual 
Training Department, and Miss Laura A. Stowell, head 
of the Domestic Economy Department, who are both con- 
nected with the Calumet Pubhc Schools. The following 
course is the combined result of the planning and testing 
at Calum.et, supplemented by the hints obtained through 
visitation of and correspondence with other manual train- 
ing schools. It is not presented as entirely satisfactory, 
but as a step towards the realization of a better course. 

Explanatory 

Our manual training shops are located in one building 
near the centre of the school district. The boys begin 
shop-work with wood-working tools in the fifth grade. 
Fifth and sixth grade boys in outlying districts are given 
knife work in their respective school-rooms. Portable 
desk tops with tools were secured through Chandler & 
Barber of Boston, Mass., at a cost of less than tw^o dollars 
per top with tools complete. The boys of two rooms are 
grouped together and the girls in the same way. While 
the boys are engaged in the knife work, the girls are 
devoting their time to sewinsr. 



174 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

Outline of Manual Training Course 
Fifth and Sixth Grades not in Central Buildings. 

Pupils in outlying schools who are in fifth or sixth 
grades arc furnished with portable desk tops and tools 
with which to do knife work. They are also furnished 
small blue prints for the articles they are to make. As 
the work progresses, original designs are required to 
stimulate and encourage the pupils. The choice of ex- 
ercises is to be made by the teacher in charge. 

Exercises — Plant label, key tag, pencil sharpener, 
thread winder, match striker, bracket shelf, corner 
bracket, yarn winder, kite string reel, match box, letter 
opener, etc. 

Fifth Grade 

Instruction is given in wood- working tools: names, 
parts, uses, and how best cared for. Simple exercises 
are required in lining with pencil, knife, gauge, try- 
square, and T bevel. Plain joints are made with special 
reference to diversity and the skillful use of tools: e.g., 
the halved splice, splayed spHce, half dove-tail, single 
mortise tenon joint, and pencil sharpener. 

Time — Two fifty-minute periods per week. 

Sixth Grade 

Attention is devoted largely to joint work of a more 
difficult character than in fifth grade, such as stretcher 
joint, full dove-tail, dove-tail drawer corner, box corner 
and full dove-tail box, with w^ood whistle, box kite, 
weather vane and crumb tray as side inducements. Turn- 
ery is also introduced, by first giving a few exercises in 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM i'ji, 

beads, cores, grooves and tapers before undertaking the 
making of a darning ball, mallet, key hanger, glove- 
mender, bill file, napkin ring, including a general knowl- 
edge of the care, use and abuse of the speed lathe. 
Time — Two fifty-minute periods per week. 

Seventh Grade 

Advanced joinery is pursued and things of real value 
are produced with some reference to the artistic. Like- 
wise fancy turnery, face plate exercises, including chuck- 
ing and inlaid work, are taken up. Articles made are, 
foot-stools, clothes bars, chairs, piano benches, pedestals, 
cabinets, tables, jardinieres, etc. 

Time — Two fifty- minute periods per week. 

Eighth Grade' 

Some fancy turnery and inlaid work is continued, 
including general drill in accuracy, preparatory to pat- 
tern making as the chief work. Begin with simple ex- 
ercises, such as draft, finish shrinkage of metals and 
other materials, together with the best methods of con- 
struction and finishing. Patterns are made for gears, 
pulleys, shaft-hangers, core boxes, hand wheels, etc. 

Time — Two fifty-minute periods per week. 

First Year High School 
First Semester 

Drawing study is introduced early in the course be- 
cause it is found that, apart from the use made of it in 
the laboratories or shops, it is a most excellent means 
of developing and sharpening the faculty of observation. 
The subject is treated in its broadest sense to enable 



176 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

pupils to determine special preferences and aptitudes 
they may possess. The lines of work are as follows: 
Freehand drawing, mechanical and oiTiamcntal lettering, 
geometric construction, section lining symbols of ma- 
terials, simple projection, drawing to scale, drawing in- 
struments and their uses. 

Time — Ten periods per week. 

Second Semester 

Blacksmith Shop — Proper tending of forge, how to 
clean, start fire, hold heats, the different heats, as welding 
and dazzling, the advantages of working iron while hot 
as well as the damaging results of working when cold, 
single hand work and with helper, shop equipment and 
cause for special construction, as the forge with its tuyere 
and blast, with descriptions and uses of hammers, sledges, 
flatters, fullers, swages, punches, cutters, heading tools 
and tongs, characteristics of metals, as cast, machine 
and tool steel, with the processes of annealing and tem- 
pering, together with welding and flux used, bending, 
twisting, brazing and soldering. 

Exercises — Wedges, staples, S-hooks, skip-keys, draAv- 
bar-clamps, car handles, collar bolts, skip washers, pen- 
dulums, and many tools made for shops. 

Time — Ten periods per week. 

Second Year High School 
First Semester 

Machine Shop — Directions are given to familiarize 
the pupils with some of the various machines, usually 
the drill press, speed or engine lathe, including proper 
names for parts, with the elements of success and possible 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOIM 177 

mistakes pertaining to the special operation at hand. 
The class of work selected for beginners will be such 
as requires the least amount of accuracy, or where shght 
errors would not destroy its usefulness. All the opera- 
tions are practical and include chipping, centering, drill- 
ing, turning, planing, and the general care and fitting of 
tools, proper oihng, and cleaning. A few of the articles 
made at this time are: Distance bars, pawl pins, rocker 
pins, hammers, jamb nuts, chucks, etc. 
Time — Ten periods per week. 

Second Semester 

Drawing — Geometric solids, such as cubes, cylinders, 
spheres, pyramids, etc. Elements of projection, iso- 
metric drawing, cabinet drawing, perspective drawing, 
artistic designing, shading and architectural drawing, 
including plans, elevations, perspective and details, di- 
verse forms of workings, drawings, embracing tracing, 
blue printing, dimensioning and reading of drawings. 

Time — Ten periods per week. 

Junior Year High School 
First Semester 

Blacksmith Shop — Much of the iron and steel work 
as mentioned previously will be continued at this time, 
followed by foundry practice with small patterns, in- 
volving the mixing and tempering of sand, ramming, 
parting, venting, rapping and drawing patterns, together 
with allied information, cores of green and dry sand, 
the best mixtures for the latter, how made, vented and 
baked, mixtures of brass, cast iron, useful alloys of cop- 
per, tin and zinc. Tool making is again taken up, giving 
special attention to finishing, tempering and coloring. 



lyS STt'DIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

Exercises — Lathe tools, diamond point, parting, fac- 
ing, threading, etc., shop tools, hammers, sledges, cold 
and hot chisels, tongs, pliers, pinchers, wrenches, etc., 
supplemented with ornamental iron work, brackets, hat 
tree, umbrella holder, tabouret, and fireplace fixtures. 

Time — Ten periods per week. 

Second Semester 

Machine Shop — After a satisfactory review, the more 
advanced work is taken up, such as chipping, filing and 
scraping a rectangle to perfect surfaces and specified 
dimensions, or a valve seat may be substituted for the 
purpose, laying, out, boring and tapping, making of jigs 
and templates and their uses, and some of the better 
class of lathe ind planer work. In addition to articles 
mentioned, this time may be devoted to the making of 
rotating bars, cross heads, boring and facing feed screws, 
oil and grease cups, unions, studding boxes, etc. 

Time — Te?i periods per week. 

Senior Year High School 
f^irsl Semester 

Drawing — Architectural drawing may be continued, 
followed by mechanical drawing assembled and in de- 
tail, closely observing the rules for lining, letters, figures 
and arrow heads. Machine design is only given in a 
general way and treated as time and preparation will 
permit. Some picture work is also done in the way of 
enlarging engines, machines, boats, etc. In conclusion, 
the pupils are given short methods for the production of 
artistic designs, and the forms for the rapid transfer of 
drawings, such as are used for the Patent Office. 

Time — Ten periods per week 



IX THE SCHOOL-ROOM 170 

Second Semester 

Machine Shop — Review of former subjects is always 
advantageous, and in connection with those mentioned,, 
supplementary exercises will be furnished with instruc- 
tions and practice in the better class of machine work, 
reciuiring thread and screw cutting, taper burning, fitting, 
finishing and exsecting. Some exercises that have beer, 
used, as, plumb bobs, planer jacks, sizing gauges, centre 
punches, clamp hand screws, dogs, etc. 

Outline of Domestic Science Course 

Fifth Grade 

Basting and seams, training the eye to accuracy, appli- 
cation on samplers and on a diminutive garment. 
Time — Tw'o fifty-minute periods per week. 

Sixth Grade 

Review of most difficult sampler and addition of more 
difficult stitches, such as gathering, patching, sewing on 
and joining of lace and embroidery, apphcation on sam- 
plers and a more complicated garment. 

Time — Two fifty-minute periods per week. 

Seventh and Eighth Grades 

Review of most difiicult samplers in sixth year and 
addition of stitches, such as hemming, buttonholes, blind 
stitches, darning, feather stitches, etc., application on 
samplers and garments for themselves, such as corset 
covers, kimonas, fancy aprons, sewing bags, etc. 

Time — Two fifty-minute periods per week. 



iSo STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

First Year High School 

Machine sewing and care of machine, economical cut- 
ting from patterns, making of set of undergarments and 
shirt-waist suit, study of textiles. 

Time — Ten periods per week. 

Second Year High School 

Taking of accurate measurements, drafting of fitted 
lining, shirt waist and outside skirt, cutting from drafts 
and making of shirt waist and dress with or without 
lining. 

Time — Ten periods per week. 

Third Year High School 

Cooking — Building and care of fire and oven tem- 
peratures, sources and composition of foods, food values 
and classification of foods, lectures on Elementary Chem- 
istry and Elementary Physiology in their relation to 
cookery, elementary study of plant life, chemical changes 
in processes of cooking, marketing for special study of 
cuts of meats and tests for fish, carving, laboratory work, 
in which each student prepares representative foods, 
such as: Beverages, cereals, eggs, meats, soups, gelatine, 
foods, fish, vegetables, sauces, breads (baking powder 
and yeast), cakes, puddings, salads, frozen foods. 

Time — Ten periods per week. 



CHAPTER XV 

THE BUILDING OF CHARACTER 
Child Study 

The highest standard that can be set up in measuring 
the teacher's efficiency in the school-room is that of 
results in the building of good character. No lower 
standard for measuring the teacher's usefulness and suc- 
cess is now acceptable. It matters little whether or not 
the view is held that the child must build his own char- 
acter, that no one can build it for him, yet the teacher's 
responsibility is great because she must furnish the most 
favorable conditions, the right atmosphere so essential 
to the development and growth of character. 

With character building as the chief aim, it must be 
granted that there can be no successful teaching and 
training of the child, without a fair knowledge of child 
nature. It must also be conceded that the knowledge 
gained of child nature from recollections of our own 
childhood, is insufficient, and does not in any way differ- 
entiate the teacher, whose special work it is to train the 
child, from the members of other professions. It ought 
to be evident that every line of child study can be made 
to contribute some good results, if wisely and sympa- 
thetically pursued. It ought to be equally evident that 
there is greater danger confronting the teacher who pre- 
sumes to enter upon, or continue her dehcate work of 



i82 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

moulding young lives, without thorough and constant 
study of the child, than there possibly can be in taking 
up any practical line of child study. It can also be 
affirmed with some emphasis, that the teacher .who can- 
not interest herself in the study of child nature, and 
excuses herself from systematic, thorough, constant and 
loving study of her pupils, manifests such a lamentable 
lack of interest and sympathy that her efhciency may 
well be questioned. 

The Child's Possibilities 

Behold the child as he enters your school-room on 
his first day of school! What does he bring? What is 
wrapped up in that little body of his ? What possibilities 
of growth, development, achievement lie before him? 
Peer into the future. Do you see the coming man? 
Can you draw aside the veil and catch a glimpse of what 
he may become, how he may serve his generation ? Only 
as you study him. As he sits before you, looking con- 
fidingly up into your face, do you realize that he was 
created in God's image, with the possibilities of walking 
in close companionship with God, thinking as Kepler 
did, God's thoughts over after him, or that he may become 
an Ishmaelite with his hand against every man, the 
companion of the murderer or the frequenter of the 
brothel? Do you recognize, as he thus sits before you, 
that there are heights that are heaven high to which he 
may ascend, or depths hell deep to which he may de- 
scend? If you realize this, then comes the almost ago- 
nizing question, have I, as his teacher, any share in this 
tremendous responsibility, of determining what he mxay 
become ? 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 183 

*'Do his future happiness and usefulness, or his misery 
and viciousness in the shghtcst measure depend upon 
anything that I may wisely or unwisely do, or even ig- 
norantly leave undone?" 

Is it a sufficient answer to say that the teacher cannot 
be expected to o^'crcome the influences of home training, 
of parental mismanagement or neglect? Even the un- 
sympathetic law says that the teacher is in loco parentis. 
Can we plead that ancestral traits, or the influence of 
heredity cannot be modified by wise and thoughtful 
training? Even the wild, disorderly, turbulent youth, 
Bismarck, became the Iron Chancellor of Germany. 
Can we advocate that adverse circumstances or environ- 
ment are insuperable ? Even the ex-slave, Fred Douglas, 
became one of the foremost orators of this country. 
Dare we attempt to place positive limits to the develop- 
ment of the human soul? No, rather let ours be the 
larger faith that sets no bounds to human development, 
that sees hmitless possibilities before every human soul, 
and holds that our highest privilege as teachers is to in- 
spire and stimulate in our pupils this larger faith in self 
and in the possibilities of human development. 

But in reaching the conclusion that we share in part 
the grave responsibility of determining what our pupils 
become, must we not also conclude that we must more 
than ever study each pupil's traits, tendencies, inclina- 
tions, thoughts, feelings, actions, in short, every mani- 
festation which will give us a clue to his real self, so that 
we may skillfully and sympathetically aid him in reahzing 
his highest and best self? And here lies the chief reason 
for child study — the highest self realization, the fullest 
possible development of your pupils. A second, but 



i84 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

secondary reason, is that of your own development as 
a teacher, that you may more quickly see and more 
wisely utilize every influence, even though it be shght, 
which tends towards your pupil's highest self realization. 

How Studied 

How shall the children be studied? In general, sym- 
pathetically, lovingly, inteUigently, thoughtfully. But this 
is exactly the spirit which characterizes the true teacher 
in all her school work. If this spirit does not permeate 
all her work, she has evidently mistaken her calling. 
Child study insists that its students be animated by this 
sympathetic, earnest, thoughtful spirit, and would bar 
out of the school-room every teacher who is not thus 
inspired. It is encouraging also to note that the demand 
for the sympathetic, earnest, thoughtful teacher is rapidly 
increasing through the emphasis that child study has 
placed upon these qualifications. 

The children should also be studied as individuals 
and not en masse. It is the individual insight that is so 
much needed, and which gained has given such an im- 
pulse to better teaching in recent years. 

I remember, when a boy, of undertaking to find in a 
bunch of striped grass, two blades exactly striped alike. 
There were thousands of blades growing out of that 
same tuft, from the same fertile soil, moistened by the 
same refreshing rains, invigorated by the same joyous 
sunshine and the same delightful breezes, yet search till 
weariness came, I could find no two blades exactly ahke. 
Each had its peculiar stripes, its supreme purpose, its 
marked characteristics, its power to stamp these char- 
acteristics upon the material it fed upon. And these 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 185 

eternal differences which distinguish one plant from an- 
other of the same or different species is the plant's in- 
dividuality. 

We see peculiar differences of individuality stamped 
by the Creator upon everything, and the human soul, 
created with God-like powers, manifests in the most 
striking manner this same law of individuality. But 
what a contrast between the plant and the child. While 
the plant has in a certain sense choice, the child has 
choice in a much larger and infinitely more dangerous 
sense. The child has conscious life, has conscious 
choice, has conscious purpose. He knows himself as 
living. He knows himself as choosing. He knows him- 
self as purposing, planning, working out his own destiny. 

This mystery of conscious life , is regarded by Dr. 
Taylor as the most fascinating, the subtlest, the sub- 
limest phenomenon in the universe. "The force of 
gravitation that holds the stars in their courses, the fer- 
vent heat that melts do^\^l mountains and tosses them 
into the sky, the bolt of lightning that shivers the towering 
monarchs of the forest, powerful though they be, know 
not themselves nor direct a single one of their myriad 
acti\ities. The strange and wonderful attribute, con- 
scious life, is reserved for the child, the man." 

The plant's food is appropriated from its immediate 
surroundings and is limited, but the child's food for 
body and soul is varied as the universe, his power of 
assimilation limitless, his choice supreme. He can say, 
"I will not," and defy the power of man, devil, angel 
or God himself to change his decision, and yet he can be 
wooed into gentle submission by the whisperings of s}-m- 
pathy and love. Who, therefore, dares undertake the 



i86 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

grave responsibility of educating, of training a child 
without the fullest preparation? 

Again the children must be studied as individuals 
because they differ so widely. Some are apt, others dull. 
Some are quick, others sluggish. Some have defective 
senses, others phlegmatic. Some docile, others intract- 
able. Some angelic, others depraved, but all are created 
in God's image, and there is therefore hope that wise 
training, under a sympathetic, conscientious, intelligent, 
skilKul, consecrated teacher, will lift each to a higher 
plane of living, and nearer God. But woe to the teacher 
who does not rise to the level of her grave responsibilities ! 

Manner of Character Building 

The formation of right habits of thinking, feeling and 
acting is the practical side of character building. Right 
thinking, right feeling, right conduct cannot be success- 
fully fostered in an unsympathetic atmosphere. Interest, 
and enthusiasm, and sympathy, and faith, emanating 
from the genuine teacher, and hlling the school-room 
with their stimulating influence, and inspiring pupils to 
their noblest efforts — these are far more potent to 
mould and fashion character than rigid discipline and 
formal knowledge. The teacher who exercised the most 
helpful influence over the lives of each of us, the one to 
whom we arc most deeply indebted, the one whom we 
hold in most grateful remembrance, is the teacher who 
manifested the deepest personal interest in our welfare, 
came into the closest sympathy with us, trusted us, 
believed in us, and had large faith in us and in our 
jjosslbilities of growth. Because she came into this 
close, loving svmpatliv, Ix-cause she showed by word and 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 187 

deed her belief that we could master a hard lesson or 
problem, we, when confidence in ourselves was shaken, 
were inspired to renewed effort and gained the rich 
reward of victory and more confidence in self. 

On the other hand, Ave haA'c also unfortunately had 
the opposite experience. We can recall an early teacher, 
faithful, sincere, and conscientious, who had unwittingly 
shown by her manner that she had lost faith in our abil- 
ity to master a certain subject, who so surrounded us 
with this atmosphere of doubt and distrust of self, that 
it made it utterly impossible for us at that time to master 
that particular subject. How many failures of this kind 
occur daily in our school-rooms? How many faithful 
efforts on the part of pupils are thus robbed of success, 
and failure ensured by such unwise^ and unsympathetic 
treatment? How much of "born short" can thus be 
accounted for because of this serious failure on the part 
of teachers to appreciate the sensitiveness of child nature ? 
Can it be measured? 

Fortunately, teachers are becoming more thoughtful, 
more considerate and wiser in their treatment of the 
children. Greater sympathy and tact are manifest. 
They have been made more fully aware of the grave 
responsibilities that rest upon those who train the young. 
Their appreciation of even slight influences, which mav 
be utilized in the development of right traits of char- 
acter, or the suppression of wrong tendencies, has been 
greatly increased. 

An Incident in Character Building 

The following incident, which occurred in the presence 
of the writer, and in a first primary school-room, pre- 



i88 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

sided over by one of those teachers who appreciate the 
subtle influences which tend to build up right character, 
illustrates how such influences may be utihzed. 

The members of a reading class were engaged in 
picking out words on the blackboard with a pointer. 
Anna was called on to point out the word "drum." 
The little girl at once rushed for the board, without giving 
the matter any thought. The teacher, however, recog- 
nizing that Anna was naturally reckless and rash, and 
also recognizing that Anna was unwittingly emphasizing 
and strengthening this trait to her serious disadvantage, 
quietly grasped the end of the pointer as she came for- 
ward and said to her, "Wait a moment, Anna. Take a 
good look before you point out the word." Anna, thus 
restrained and cautioned, was led to select the right 
word. Had she been left to herself, she would have 
dashed at the board, and thrust the pointer at the first 
word that would have caught her eye. If left to herself, 
she would have helped to fasten upon herself the habit 
of thoughtlessness, of dashing at things without due 
consideration. Her wise teacher, however, promptly 
checked that tendency, and turned Anna's energies from 
the channel of thoughtlessness into the channel of thought- 
fulness, from hasty, impulsive, inconsiderate action to the 
beginning of deliberate, cool, considerate action. 

It does not seem possible that such thoughtful, wise 
treatment of a child can be regarded by any intelligent 
human being as a matter of small consequence. Such 
treatment, or its lack, is fraught with the most momentous 
consequences to the child. It may involve the success 
or failure of that child's future life. 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 



Value of Child Study 



Child study, by its fostering a keener and more sym- 
pathetic insight into child nature, develops this deeper 
appreciation of the teacher's responsibilities, this greater 
sensibihty to the subtle influences which contribute to 
the building of strong character, and thus enhances the 
tactful teacher's services above all price. 

Child study has thrown much additional light upon 
the subtle, sHght influences which mould character and 
has revealed, made clearer, causes which were known 
to be operating, but were not understood. The pro- 
fession long since recognized the strong moulding influ- 
ence of the genuine teacher, and this fact has been cur- 
rent in the familiar pedagogical adage, "As is the teacher, 
so is the school." But it has been left to modem child 
study to make clear that this old adage has its tremendous 
significance in the fact that the child's nervous and 
muscular systems, so strangely and delicately united, 
furnish such a plastic physical basis that upon it is written 
or impressed, to a greater or less degree, every influence 
with which the child comes in contact, be it in the school- 
room or elsewhere. 

And so we have come to understand more clearly that 
the old adage has a tremendous significance, and that 
the teacher has tremendous responsibilities as she stands 
before her pupils. Here is the tendency. Stammering 
teacher, stammering pupils; awkward teacher, awkward 
pupils; nervous teacher, nervous pupils; irritable teacher, 
irritable pupils; careless teacher, careless pupils; noisy 
teacher, noisy pupils; impatient (cachcr, impatient pupils. 
Arc wc teachers guilty of manifesting or exemplifying any 



iQo- STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

of these traits of character? In heaven's name let us 
put forth every effort to free our pupils from such harm- 
ful, bhghting influences. 

But fortunately on the other hand, it is equally true 
that neat teacher, neat pupils; pohte teacher, poHte 
pupils; cheerful teacher, cheerful pupils; thoughtful 
teacher, thoughtful pupils; patient teacher, patient pupils; 
enthusiastic teacher, enthusiastic pupils; conscientious 
teacher, conscientious pupils. This is the tendency. 
Blessed are the schools over wjiich teachers possessing 
such virtues as these preside. Their reward shall be 
great. 

The Physical Basis or Character 

References have already been made to the physical 
basis of character. That such a physical basis exists, 
is quite widely accepted. It means nothing more nor 
less than the wonderful combination of nerves and muscles 
which so mysteriously controls each living human body. 
To use a famihar illustration: You hear the fire alarm 
whistle. Instantly you jump to your feet and rush to 
a window to discover where the fire is. Trace the process. 
The sound waves from the whistle passed through the 
air to your ear, your sensory nerve-fibres transmitted the 
impressions to the auditory centre of the brain, where, 
by some mysterious process, it was transformed into a 
motor wave, and was sent out over motor nerve-fibres 
which acted directly upon the muscles of your lower 
limbs and brought you to your feet. 

Such stimulation, having once forced itself over this 
course, its repetition wears, so to speak, a smoother path 
and a quicker response follows. Thus the old soldier, 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM ' lyi 

by obedience to commands, has furro\Aed the spirit of 
obedience into every fibre of his being. It is therefore 
held that this union of the nervous and muscular system 
forms a physical basis upon which every voluntary act, 
whether good or evil, wears a smoother path for another 
of like character, and renders it more difhcult for one of 
opposite nature to get the right of Avay. 

Dr. Halleck holds that right training in habits of 
neatness will so affect tlie physical basis of character 
that the child, on catching sight of a misplaced article, 
puts it in its place as naturally as a bird dog points to- 
ward the bird for which the hunter is looking. 

The young man who has heeded the voice of his con- 
science has honesty grooved into his nervous system, 
and cannot do a dishonest act. You remember the in- 
cident of the dishonest weaver, whose bolt of cloth had 
shrunk in the fulling process, and wishing to make it 
the recjuired length for his customer by stretching it, 
he handed Adam, his apprentice, one end of the cloth 
while he took the other end, and then said, "Pull, Adam, 
pull hard." But Adam rephed, "I can't pull." His 
muscular and nervous systems had honesty so thoroughly 
grooved into them through honest living, that they prac- 
tically could not respond where dishonesty was involved. 

The child that has cheerfully obeyed his teacher has 
the spirit of obedience grooved into his nervous systeni, 
and disobedience can scarcely get the right of way. The 
child that has closely applied himself to his work has 
grooved into his nervous system the spirit of application, 
and shiftlessness can scarcely get the right of way. But 
snd to state, the opposite is also true, and severe should 
be the condemnation that should rest upon the teacher 



19? STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

who permits the spirit of disobedience or of shiftlessness 
to groove itself into the nervous system of any child 
under her care. 

This is the wide-open door to ruin, and many a child 
enters upon it through the culpable inadvertence or 
criminal negligence of some one in charge of a school- 
room. The Great Teacher, the gentlest of men, felt 
justified in pronouncing upon such the following severe 
condemnation : 

"But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which 
believe in Me, it were better for him that a millstone 
were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned 
in the depths of the sea." And all thoughtful parents 
are about ready to respond to this severe arraignment 
of the careless or thoughtless school keeper. Amen and 
amen! 

In these opening years of the twentieth century, it is 
coming to be recognized that the services of the tactful 
teacher who possesses a keen and sympathetic insight 
into child nature, a deep appreciation of the teacher's 
responsibilities, a discriminating sensitiveness to the 
subtle, silent influences which contribute to the building 
of strong character, are above all price. Seek to become 
such wise builders of character, and your reward will 
be sure. 



CHAPTER XVI 

A STUDY IN STUDY 
Great Loss of Time in Study 

"At least three-fourths of all the time spent by a boy 
of twelve in trying to learn a hard lesson out of a book, 
is time thrown away." — G. Stanley Hall. 

This is the cool, dehberate statement of Dr. Hall, the 
father of the child study movement in this country. This 
is the positive conviction held by the most thorough and 
astute student of children's characteristics and habits that 
this country has produced. Coming from the highest 
authority, isn't it a startling utterance? Shouldn't it 
challenge the attention of every teacher ? Is it true ? 

Let us carefully scan it again: "At least three-fourths 
of all the time," sometimes more than three-fourths of 
all the time, at best "three-fourths of all the time spent 
by a boy of twelve in trying to learn a hard lesson out of 
a book, is time thrown away." If Stanley Hall is right, 
and I believe that nearly every observing teacher will 
agree that he is, what a tremendous waste of time and 
opportunity is constantly going on in every school-room, 
in the very presence and under the open gaze of the 
guardians of those school- rooms. 

Educators and teachers have patiently worked out great 
improvements in text-books, in methods of teaching, in 
management and organization and have greatly en ri died 



194 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

the school curriculum, but have done practically nothing 
to overcome the greatest loss in the entire school system, 
the loss of that three-fourths of the time of the study 
period. This is one of the most surprising conditions to 
be found in our otherwise rather highly perfected school 
system, I want to set teachers to thinking over the solu- 
tion of this great problem: How can we teachers lessen 
this tremendous loss of time which is constantly going on 
in our school rooms? 

Perhaps some teachers may be a little skeptical as to 
the correctness of Dr. Hall's statement. Perhaps they 
may think he wanted to be sensational, or at least radical. 
True, he strikes out straight from the shoulder, but he 
carefully weighs his words and makes no hasty general- 
izations. 

How Time is Lost 

When Dr. Hall declares that at least three-fourths of 
the study period is time thrown away, I interpret that he 
doesn't mean that there is a dehberate idling or inten- 
tional dawdling away of three-fourths of the time, but 
that through unconscious mind- wandering, wool-gather- 
ing, letting thoughts foreign to the subject drift through 
their minds, day dreaming, castle building, lack of con- 
centration, inabihty to separate the essentials from non- 
essentials, the unwise attempts of memorizing the words 
of the text without proper assimilation of the thought, the 
many evils resulting from undigested rote-learning, the 
formation of these and other bad habits of study, these 
cause the losses to mount up to such tremendous and 
appalling proportions. 

One most serious side of this problem is, that much of 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 195 

this loss is experienced by boys and girls who are earnestly 
striving to master a subject. They have no desire or in- 
tention of throwing away time. They are conscientiously 
striving to utilize their time to the best advantage in attain- 
ing a firm grasp of the subject under consideration, but 
they do not understand the dangers and temptations 
which confront them in their earnest attempts to master 
a subject. 

Why are there so few pupils in our schools who know 
how to thoroughly master a subject ? Certainly they are 
not indifferent. They want this power to concentrate all 
their energies on the task in hand. Why have so many 
of them fastened upon themselves bad habits of study? 
They haven't thus handicapped themselves intentionally. 
It must be that we teachers could have saved them, at 
least, in part, from dropping into these bad habits of 
study had we put them on their guard. Certainly we 
ought to haA^e pointed out to them that the paths of in- 
attention, of mind-wandering, of lack of concentration, 
arc easily established by a few careless journeys into such 
territory. These paths lie in the direction of least resis- 
tance and arc even more harmful than they are seductive. 

Art of Study Important 

The art of study is one of the greatest arts, and its 
mastery, or failure to master it, is fraught with momentous 
consequences to the pupil. There are those right begin- 
nings, or ways of approach, which lead the pupil on to 
conscious power and mastery, and there are those mis- 
guided and futile efforts which end only in weariness and 
defeat. 

How a pupil studies is a matter of m\icli greater moment 



196 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

than what he studies. Manner is permanent, matter is 
ti-\nsient. Habits chng throughout hfe and shape it. 
Fnowledge is often carelessly gained and easily lost. 
For a pupil to form bad habits of study in early school 
life, to drop into habits of dawdling over a subject, to 
fail to develop his powers of concentration, is to render 
subsequent school life a drudgery instead of an inspiration, 
and bars the doors to intellectual pursuits after school 
days have passed. 

And yet we have conducted the recitation as if knowl- 
edge, subject matter, was the chief aim. Tests in recita- 
tion are all directed to ascertain how much the pupil 
knows of the subject, or perhaps more correctly, to a 
discovery of how much of the language of the text-book 
has been memorized, while the more vital process of how 
he gained his knowledge is ignored. 

Another defect in the method of conducting the recita- 
tion, or even the study periods which are spent with the 
teacher, is that we are constantly leading the pupil, con- 
stantly directing him at every step whether he is right or 
wrong, never leaving him to direct his own steps, never 
affording him the opportunities of self -direction, never 
developing sufficiently in him the power of initiative. 
Should it then be a matter of surprise that when he is 
left to himself to master the meaning of the paragraphs 
in his text-book, where he must explore the way alone, 
that he dawdles and gets nowhere? 

"Dawdles and gets nowhere?" That was a thought- 
less statement. He does get somewhere. He is beating 
out for himself the paths which will forever lead him 
away from the student's goal. A radical change is needed. 
Pupils must be thrown more upon their own resources, 



IN THK SCHOOL-ROOM 197 

learn how to l^reak up a somewhat complex, thought into 
simpler ones, by actually doing it for themselves. 

Dr. Frank McMurry related that he one day taught a 
fourth year class in hterature. He suddenly inquired, 
"Do you ever stop to talk over what you read?" "No," 
repHed several; "Yes," said a few, "sometimes we do." 
"All right," said he. "Let us stop here and talk a few 
minutes. Eddie, what have you to say?" "O, we don't 
talk; the teacher does the talking," rephed Eddie, with a 
most nonchalant air. Dr. McMurry adds, "How typical 
of the school! How lamentable!" 

The efficient teacher must develop greater ability in 
herself to keep still and let the pupil do more thinking 
and tallving, even though he does it slowly and lamely at 
first. The power of initiative, of self direction, must be 
developed and then he can engage in successful, inde- 
pendent study. 

How Train to Study 

Are we not ready to admit candidly that we have fallen 
far short of our duty in the matter of training, training 
into right habits of study, and concede that this is one of 
the most important problems that confronts us? Shall 
we not begin some systematic efforts to solve this prob- 
lem? Shall pupils be permitted unwittingly to fasten 
upon themselves those habits of study which will severely 
handicap them through life, simply because no guiding 
hand pointed out the dangers of dawdling, of wool- 
gathering, of superficial and hstless work? 

How shall we teach our pupils right habits of study? 
Certainly not by ignoring this important matter, as we 
have so largely done in the past. Is it not the plain duty 



198 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

of every teacher to take up a thorough study of how her 
pupils are studying, to discover v^^hat bad habits are 
mocking them in efforts at mastery, and to train them 
into a better use of their mental powers? 

My purpose in discussing this subject is not to suggest 
the best way to begin such study, but to direct the atten- 
tion of teachers to this great waste, arouse their interest 
in it, start them to thinking about it, and how to lessen 
this great loss. The way to begin may not be clear at 
first, but if they will only make some simple investigations 
of their o^^^l, take their pupils into their confidence and 
ask them to co-operate in overcoming this tremendous 
waste of their energy, not only will the way open up for 
forming better habits of study, but both teacher and pupils 
will be brought into closer touch and sympathy with each 
other. 

One Way to Begin 

In harmony with the thought just suggested, one day 
not long since, I walked into one of my B Seventh Grrtde 
rooms and found they were just ready to take up the 
study of the preposition. There were forty-two pupils 
in the room, averaging, about thirteen years of age and 
possessing, as a class, about average ability. 

I said to the teacher, "May I take charge of your pupils 
a little while and see how we can study a lesson together?" 
The teacher gave ready consent. 

I explained to the pupils that I wanted to take up with 
them a little investigation of how they were studying. I 
believed that they were at least average pupils, but that 
they were unconsciously wasting a great deal of time and 
energy in preparing their lessons. I wanted to take them 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROO^r 



19c; 



into my confidence and we would candidly investigate 
what caused this waste. Surely they were, willing to co- 
operate, when the purpose was to improve their power 
of attention and concentration, and to get a quicker and 
firmer grasp upon their subjects of study. I told them 
that those wonderful minds which they had would often 
slip away from them and were gone far away outside the 
school-room, and wasted much time before they even 
\uie-\y it. They were likely to become regular truants 
if they didn't watch them. 

"You know wc have a truant officer who goes after 
the boys and girls when their bodies are absent from the 
school-room and brings them back. We know that they 
can't do their work, can't keep up with their classes, that 
they are losing all that time when their bodies are out of 
school. So the truant officer chases after them, some- 
times arrests them or otherwise punishes them for wasting 
their school time. But do you know that even when your 
bodies are in the school-room, your minds are sometimes 
playing truant, and are not doing any more school work 
than if your bodies were truant or absent also? Who is 
to capture your truant minds? Not the truant officer, 
for he counts noses not minds. Not even the teacher, 
always, for your e3'-es are upon the book, wliile \-our 
thoughts are miles away. You must be the truant officer, 
if you wish to master your topic and yourself. The 
teacher can make a pretty good guess about the amount 
of mind-truancy you have indulged in from vour lack of 
mastery of the subject. 

"But not simply do you need to guard against the mind 
wandering outside of the school-room, in order to learn to 
master a subject, but you need to be on the alert to pre- 



200 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

vent the interruption of your thoughts by little noises and 
distractions which come up in the school-room. You can 
only get to the bottom of a subject by shutting out every- 
thing from your mind that is foreign to the subject and 
getting dovm and digging, and digging hard. When you 
find your mind slipping away to something else, summon 
up your will power and order it immediately to return to 
its work. You can bring it to heel and make it serve you 
faithfully and efficiently, if you only persistently and 
promptly go after it. But you must be constantly on the 
alert. 

"Now we wish to study a little together, and I want 
you to watch yourselves as to how you study. Be per- 
fectly honest about it. No censure will be given. I 
want you to detect for yourselves your own bad habits 
in wasting time, and then set about correcting them. If 
you correct these, you will then be on the road to success- 
ful and pleasurable study. 

Study of Preposition 

"Let us take up the study of the preposition. I'll 
give you five minutes to study the page which describes 
and finally leads up to a definition of the preposition. 
I want you to do your best to keep your minds on the 
subject. Don't let anything come in to divert or dis- 
tract your attention. Be, however, on the alert to catch 
your mind wandering and bring it back as quickly as 
possible. Make it stick to your subject. Now this will 
be difficult and at first will in itself tend to distract your 
mind from concentrated study. However, you are trying 
to find out what are the things that distract and divert 
from thorough study. 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 201 

"I will indicate when your five minutes are over and 
then I want you to write out in the next five minutes, 
How I Tried to Study the Preposition. Mention the 
distractions and indicate how much time you think you 
lost." 

With these instructions they went to work in a most 
earnest and determined manner. The spirit of hearty co- 
operation was delightful. A few obtrusive noises occurred 
outside the room, pupils passing in the hall, a few low 
words of conversation between the teacher and myself, 
crossing the room by the teacher and superintendent and 
the whistle of a passing engine. 

Manner of Study 

In regard to the manner of study, ten tried to memorize 
the words of the book, six hoped" to master the subject 
by reading it over several times, six tried to test their 
knowledge and also fix the thoughts of the lesson by 
asking themselves questions, three made definitions of 
their own, one wrote, "I put my hands upon my face," 
and another, "I kind of blocked my ears." 

As to the causes which induced mind-wandering and 
waste of time, twenty-two out of the forty-two lost time 
from the noise made in the hall by passing pupils and 
wondering where those pupils were going, etc. This was 
the most distracting of all the noises. Seven suffered 
loss of time because the teacher and superintendent 
crossed the room once. Four were diverted by thinking 
of the test in geography which was to be given later. 
Three lost time thinking over what they were to write 
later. Three found themselves losing time wondering 
if their five minutes were nearly up. Other causes of 



202 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

lost time discovered were: "The whistle of the engine." 
"Thinking of the books I left at home." "Loud talking 
of teacher across the hall." "A crash upstairs." "Mov- 
ing of some one's feet." "Looked up to see the time." 
"Looked up to see if others were stud3dng." "Thinking 
of vacation next week." "Thinking this was a strange 
exercise." "Wondering what the superintendent was 
doing." "Wondering what the superintendent was writ- 
ing about." "Wondering if the superintendent was going 
to keep us longer than the usual time." "Thinking 
about a funny sentence to write about how we study." 

Typical Papers 

The following papers, the first three written by boys, 
and the second three by girls, are typical and suggestive: 



" How I Studied the Preposition " 

"I wasted about one and a half minutes while I was 
studying the preposition. 

1 read one sentence and then I thought what Miss P — 
was doing up by the desk, then I studied about a line, 
then I thought who those pupils were in the hall. 

I studied the rest of that page. 

When I got to the other side of the page I read this 
sentence: The savages fought with fury: I thought how 
the savages fought and how many men they killed." 



"How J Studied the Preposition^'' 

"First of all I read some of it over, then began to think 
what kind of word would illustrate. Then I was inter- 
rupted bv some one moving across the hall. Then my 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 



203 



mind began to think who was that and from which room. 
And there I lost a minute. Then I began to study again 
and question myself about the preposition. As I looked 
off my lesson I looked at the floor and thought to myself 
about the ink spots. Then I began to study the defini- 
tions of the book and to memorize the words." 



^'How I Tried to Study the Lesson in Preposition'''' 

"When I began to study, I studied for about half a 
minute, then I heard Miss P — walk down to the front 
of the room and I looked up. Then I began again, but 
as soon as 1 began to study, the pupils from the grading 
room came by and I looked up again. Then after I had 
studied it awhile I could not study it so hard as before. 
Then the first thing I knew I was wondering what a funnv 
lesson we were having. Then I tried to study but before 
I had studied a line I looked at the clock. When I 
studied — " 

"ifow / Studied the Preposition'''' 

"I studied about a page when I looked up to see if 
the other girls and boys around me were studying or had 
their eyes on their books. Then I studied a httle longer 
when I heard some one walking in the hall. I looked up 
to see if th,ey were coming in our room. I kept on study- 
ing a little while longer when I heard some one walking 
in our room, so I looked up and saw Miss P — was walking 
,to the desk. Once I looked up to see what the superin- 
tendent was doing. These were the three times I looked 
off my book. I wasted about two minutes, and three 
minutes of hard study." 



204 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

How I Tried to Study a Preposition''' 

"I started to study real hard. I studied to where it 
says a preposition is a very important word, when I heard 
a noise in the hall. I didn't mean to, but before I thought 
I had my mind upon the noise in the hall. I then began 
to study again. I got a little farther when I heard some- 
body across the hall talking and by this time I had lost 
about one and one-half minutes' study, although when I 
started I meant to study all the while. I didn't get as 
much out of my lesson as I should, because I let my mind 
wander away at every sound I heard. While I was 
studying I tried to learn word for word." 



"Hoiv I Studied the Preposition'^ 

"I went to work as soon as we were told. 

A few interruptions were made by the pupils in the 
hall, but I did not pay any attention to them, I simply 
went to work as hard as I could study. 

I did not look off my book once or lose one second, 
but went on studying my language lesson for the six min- 
utes which the superintendent gave us without paying any 
attention to anything going around us in the room or 
school hall, but I used up the six minutes in good study." 

Amount of Time Lost 

In regard to the amount of time lost, thirteen out of 
the forty-two did not give any figures. Of the twenty- 
nine who reported, one gave no time lost; five, one-half 
minute; eight, one minute; seven, one and one-half 
minutes; five, two minutes; and two, three minutes. 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 205 

Total loss, thirty-seven minutes, an average of one and 
three-tenths minutes per pupil, or about twenty-six per 
cent. In spite of the fact that they v^ere watching them- 
selves closely and were applying themselves in an unusual 
degree (one boy wrote that he learned more in those five 
minutes than in fifteen other minutes), they lost more than 
one-fourth of those brief five minutes. 

Now this investigation discloses only the loss of time 
in the study period from mind-wandering, and places it 
at more than one- fourth, when conditions are most 
favorable for study. Add to this the losses which result 
from the unwise attempts at memorizing the words of 
the text, without properly assimilating the thought, from 
inability to separate essentials from non-essentials, from 
superficial work, from many other bad habits of study 
which severely handicap the average pupil, and the sum 
total points to the conclusion that Dr. Hall was right when 
he declared, "x\t least three-fourths of all the time spent 
by a boy of twelve in trying to learn a hard lesson out of 
a book, is time thrown away." Is there any more im- 
portant problem up for solution before the teachers of 
this country, than the one, How to lessen the great waste 
of time in the study period? 



CHAPTER XVII 

A LEAF FROM A SUPERINTENDENT'S DIARY 

As a superintendent of public schools, and a citizen of 
the commonwealth of Michigan, I have great faith in 
the possibilities of our public schools transforming, under 
ordinary conditions, all classes of children into good 
citizens. 

Condition or Neglected Children 

Let me bring before you, in a few words, a Httle more 
definitely, what that transforming process is, with that 
unfortunate class of pupils whose home life is largely 
made up of parental indifference and neglect. Note the 
condition of such pupils as they enter the school-room 
for the first time and come under the humanizing, civiliz- 
ing influence of the sympathetic, skillful teacher. This 
class is a. worse element in disorganization than the 
awkward sc^uad in a company of soldiers, for not only 
arc they awkward, but they are also filthy: hands and 
face begrimed with dirt, hair unkempt, clothing torn, 
altogether in outward appearance, repulsive. Still worse, 
however, they are rude, vulgar, disrespectful, untruthful, 
quarrelsome, intensely selfish, impatient of any restraint, 
clisobedient, without self-control, many of them veritable 
IshmaeUtes, with hand against every other hand. Pity 
them, yes, pitv them, for they are simply the natural 
206 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 207 

results of parental indifference and neglect, supplemented 
by the vices of street education. 

Does this sympathetic, skillful teacher, this great civ- 
ilizing factor, this presiding genius of the school-room, 
turn away in disgust from these filthy children, as this 
b^-rbarous mob invades her room the first day of school ? 
Oh, no! She has looked beyond each dirty face, down 
into the soul of the child, and caught there a shght re- 
flection of God's image. She sees there in the develop- 
ment of that soul, wonderful possibilities. This boy may 
be a Gladstone, or a Jack the Ripper. This girl may 
become a Florence Nightingale, or a Juke — : the prolific 
mother of criminals. With the thought before her that 
her inteUigent, faithful effort, or the lack of it, may de- 
termine which of these widely different careers the child 
shall enter upon, the conscientious teacher, profoundly 
impressed with her grave responsibilities, is inspired to 
put forth every eftort. When the weal or woe of, not 
only these children, but also the weal or woe of the city, 
aye, even that of the commonwealth is at stake, this 
faithful, loyal teacher dare not, can not, will not falter. 

Their Tr,\nsformation 

Note the wonderful transformation which this class 
of unkempt children gradually undergoes under tlie in- 
telligent, sympathetic teacher. Long before the pupil 
reaches the high school, he is neat and cleanly. His 
awkwardness and rudeness have disappeared, he walks 
erect with a manly air, "and looks the whole world in 
the face." He is no longer vulgar and quarrelsome, but 
polite and courteous. His intense selfishness has been 
modified by the wholesome doctrine, constantly im- 



2oS STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

pressed upon him, that others in the school-room have 
rights which he is bound to respect, and in addition he 
begins to have ghmpses of the great truth that selfish- 
ness doesn't pay, but that his own best interests are 
best conserved when he is working for the general good. 
Disobedience, therefore, disappears, hearty co-operation 
and wise self-direction and self-control take its place. 
If this transformation were not constantly going on, and 
had not become such a familiar sight, it would excite 
greater admiration and wonder. 

Every observing citizen of the United States can furnish 
convincing proofs of this wonderful transformation of 
many neglected children- into good citizens, through the 
uplifting influence of the public schools, when ordinary 
conditions prevail. I gladly bear testimony to their 
magnificent achievements. But what shall be done when 
environment, a potent factor in the training of the child, 
is directly opposed to every influence which the school 
seeks to arouse and develop? Are the schools to con- 
tinue the unequal struggle without making the attempt 
to change the adverse environment? 

Permit me to illustrate what I mean by presenting a 
few brief chapters from the history of a Sioux City boy's 
life as it came under my observation. 

Harry Brovi^n's Early History 

We will call him Harry Brown, but that is not his real 
name. Harry, when I first knew him, was about eleven 
years of age. His father was a Spaniard, and his mother 
had been dead about two years. She left two little 
motherless children to the care of Harry, and the scant 
mercies of a cold world. Tb^ father sometimes provided 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 209 

for the three children and sometimes he did not. Harry 
thus, at a tender age, was forced at times to make a hving 
for this family, and could not always succeed by honest 
means. His very love for his dependent brothers drove 
him into dishonest acts. 

Harry's face, when I first saw him in school, attracted 
me, although it was swarthy and dirty and his hair un- 
kempt. I inquired about him, and learned from his 
teachers, who were deeply interested in him, that he 
inherited his father's hot, Spanish temperament, and 
would fly into a passion whenever his wishes were crossed. 
He was constantly in collision with his playmates, and 
his ebullitions of temper were a constant menace to the 
good order of the school grounds. His teachers sought 
in every way to develop in him self-control. At times 
he would take pride in showing how well he could con- 
duct himself, and when his teachers began to congratu- 
late themselves that their long exercise of sympathy and 
patience was finally to bear fruit, he would suddenly 
drop all attempts at restraint and apparently abandon 
himself to the flood of rebellious feelings which over- 
whelmed him. 

Such outbursts as these disclosed to us the sad fact 
that Harry's will power, never well developed in the 
direction of withstanding these floods of passion, had 
been weakened by that cursed cigarette habit. The 
motherless, practically homeless child, had fastened upon 
himself that demoralizing habit, not knowing its deadly 
influence upon his tender nerves and upon his will power. 

We pointed out to him the serious harm that must 
come to him from the use, not simply of cigarettes, but 
of tobacco in any form, and secured his consent to try 



2IO STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

to break up the bad habit by the use of an antidote for 
tobacco. He agreed to take the antidote according to 
directions, provided we would secure it for him, and 
we did so; but all to no purpose. We tried to appeal to 
his better nature, pointed out that it was an expensive, 
filthy, harmful, demoralizing habit, all of which he 
promptly admitted, but when the final appeal came to 
him to rise up in his strength and break away from it, 
the poor boy replied, "I can't." Saddest confession 
that a human being can make, and yet in his case it was 
literally true. 

Inheriting a passionate, vacillating temperament, with 
the little will power, power of self-control which he in- 
herited, weakened, undermined by the deadly cigarette 
habit, what was there left to build upon? How could 
right character be built with no foundation — condemned 
like a rudderless ship to drift, drift, the sport of every 
adverse breath or wave of passion? 

Some weeks after this sad confession, Harry was re- 
quested to remain for a talk with his teacher at the close 
of school. Thinking that possibly some punishment for 
his serious misconduct might be inflicted, although this was 
not this teacher's thought, as she approached he made 
a dive for the door, and quickly disappeared. Nothing 
could be learned of him for some days, when the starthng 
announcement was made in the morning paper that 
Harry had shot and killed a boy while the two were 
skating on the Floyd River. There were some circum- 
stances which seemed to indicate that it was not acci- 
dental, and so Harry was arrested. We hastened to look 
him up where he was confined, and made every effort, 
while he was in court, to have him sent to the state in- 



IN THE SCFIOOL-ROOM 211 

dustrial school. It was very evident that Harry's chances 
of reform outside the industrial school were hopeless. 
The father strenuously opposed the plan of sending him 
to the industrial school, although apparently indifferent 
in every other direction as to what Harry might or might 
not do. 

Prejudice Against Industrial School 

It is to be regretted that so many people have such a 
horror of an industrial school. They regard it as they re- 
gard a jail, a place simply for criminals. While it is true 
that there are children there who are criminals, yet the 
management in family groups is such as to surround 
them with wholesome, uphfting influences, and the dan- 
gers of demoralization are carefully guarded against. 
Such is the care in industrial schools, and so well ad- 
ministered is the discipline, that eighty per cent of the 
boys sent there become good citizens. It would be diffi- 
cult to find even one per cent of those who were aban- 
doned to the demoralization of street education who 
became good citizens. Or, -to put it otherwise, the boy 
placed in the industrial school at a reasonable age, has 
eightv times as many chances of becoming a good citizen 
as the one abandoned to the vices of street education. 

This prejudice against the industrial school influenced 
also Harry's attorney, as well as the judge, and wc found 
that our efforts to send him there were doomed to end 
in failure. Harry was finally cleared of the charge, and 
set free to drift rapidly into the criminal class through 
the seductive and demoralizing influences of street edu- 
cation. The public schools had lost their hold upon him, 
and he became a willing and eager attendant u|)on the 



212 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

schools of vice in that city, which, sad to relate, are 
open day and night and ever ready to allure the unwary 
from the paths of right. How long, O Lord, how long 
shall designing men be permitted to trap the boys and 
girls into lives of sin and crime through these schools 
of vice? Why are we not as eager and devoted in our 
efforts to bring to naught their devilish machinations 
as they are to entrap the unwary ? Is it because there 
is no direct financial reward to us in the saving of the 
boys and girls from these schools of vice? Shall we 
concede that the keepers of these dens of infamy shall 
be protected, and permitted to carry on their debauching 
of the boys and girls because forsooth they contribute 
to the city treasury? Since when have we become so 
mercenary as to barter the possible loss of the innocence 
and virtue of the children for filthy lucre ? Out upon 
these worse than heathenish ideas! 

Reform vs. Inform 

Leaving out the moral obliquity of such a method 
of administration, it ought to be recognized that from 
a mercenary standpoint it doesn't pay. As an eminent 
Englishman, who recently visited this country, said of 
us, "A free land must choose betM^ecn the teacher and 
the demagogue — if the school-master is not paid now, 
there will be the judge and the jailer to pay later." Ac- 
cording to statistics vouched for by an expert accountant, 
the cost of convictions in seventeen criminal cases in 
Woodbury County, Iowa, for the year 1894 amounted 
to $91,115. I found that the total amount paid for 
teachers in the Sioux City Schools for the same year 
was $87,201. In other words, Woodbury County in 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 213 

1894 paid out more for the attempted, reformation of 
seventeen criminals than Sioux City did for the instruc- 
tion and training of over five thousand children. It is 
true that '94 was an exceptional year, as regards the 
cost of criminal prosecutions, but take the total cost of 
criminal cases in Woodbury County for the four years 
beginning in '91, and it has amounted, according to this 
same expert accountant, to $202,817, or an average of 
$50,704.25 per year. The total number of convictions 
for the same four years was 105, or an average of twenty- 
six and one-quarter each year. This would make the 
average cost of the education of a criminal for one year 
in the District Court School, with the lawyers as teachers 
and the judge as superintendent of instruction, $1931.59, 
almost $2000 per capita — and a miserably poor caput 
at that. 

Now take again the ligurcs for '94, when the cost of 
criminal prosecution ran highest. The cost of instruc- 
tion of the five thousand children then in the schools of 
Sioux City was $87,201. This would make the average 
cost of the education of a boy for one year in the Sioux 
City schools Si 7.44 — call it for short $18 per capita — 
and each caput worth a score of the other kind made 
over in the District Court. It indicates that it is more 
than a hundred times as expensive to reform the criminal 
as it is to inform the boy. I am confident that the people 
generally do not understand how much cheaper it is to 
equip our schools generously and thoroughly, and thus 
be able to train up all boys and girls in the way they 
should go, so that when they are old they will not depart 
from it. The old adage, ".^n ounce of prevention is 
worth a pound of cure," has nowhere better excmph- 



214 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

fication than here. We ought to place tremendous em- 
phasis on the economy of rightly educating, informing, 
so as to avoid the necessity of reforming later at such 
enormous expense. 

It's worse than "penny wise and pound foolish" to 
equip- the schools for the right education and training 
of the children and then permit some ■ of the children 
to absent themselves to be educated in the schools of vice 
fostered by a "wide open policy." In the interests 
of better citizenship, we must loudly and emphatically 
protest against such folly. 

Harry's Rapid Descent 

But to return to Harry. We left him out of the public 
schools, but in the schools of vice, rapidly drifting into 
the criminal class. Occasionally I would catch a glimpse 
of him in some obscure quarter of the city, but seldom 
would he permit me to get near enough to him to engage 
him in some friendly conversation. Instead of the hon- 
est, straightforward look which characterized him when 
I first met him, in its place could be seen the uneasy, 
furtive glances by which the sullied soul strives to con- 
ceal its tarnished condition from the world's gaze. He 
could not be induced to re-enter school, but chose rather 
to continue his education in the alluring schools of vice. 

The rest is soon told. A few months later, I saw by 
the morning paper that Harry had been arrested for 
stealing coal. I hurried to the pohce station, thinking 
now I could have him sent to the state industrial school, 
but learned, to my regret, that he was too old to be ad- 
mitted there. Harry confessed his guilt, said he had stolen 
the coal for the purpose of selling it and thus securing 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 215 

some money to spend. The judge promptly sentenced 
him to thirty days in jail. I concluded to make one more 
effort to reclaim him. Harry seemed deeply affected 
by the deplorable situation in which he found himself. 
He vowed by everything that was good that, if he 
were given another chance, he would reform. I was 
convinced, however, that he could not reform without 
getting out of the city, and away from his unfortunate 
environment, so I agreed to intercede for him, if he would 
positively promise me to leave the city immediately and 
go to live with a farmer not far from the city, who knew 
him and was willing to assist him. He eagerly accepted 
my offer, and gave earnest assurances that he would go 
out into the country, remain there, and make a new 
start for a better life. 

The judge was soon interested 'in the case, and was 
willing to co-operate. He said, however, that the coal 
dealer, from whom Harry had stolen the coal, must also 
be won over to the plan, and we went to see him. At 
first he was unwilling to let Harry go, because he had 
already lost heavily from such depredations upon his 
coal, and wished to make a wholesome example of Harry. 
When assured that the record of the police court would 
show that Harry was convicted, he finally consented 
and the judge suspended the sentence of thirty days in 
jail, on condition that he remain outside the city limits. 
If he returned, he would be promptly made to serve out 
his sentence. 

.\ccordingly Harry was released. I left tlie police 
court, patting myself on the back with the thought that 
at last I had done Harry some real good, and had opened 
the way for him to lead an honest life. But alas! that 



2i6 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

weakened will of Harry's failed to serve him. Within 
a month, to my surprise and deep regret, Harry was 
again in the police court on the old charge of stealing 
coal. The judge promptly sentenced him to an addi- 
tional thirty days, which with the former sentence made 
sixty days to serve. 

I went to see him and found him in jail, the companion 
of criminals. When questioned about going out into the 
country, he frankl) dmitted he hadn't left the city. 
When asked why he didn't keep his promise, he in- 
differently answered that he didn't know. Need I say 
that I found myself thoroughly disheartened in my further 
efforts to assist Harry? I tried to hold up before him 
higher ideals of life, but all the while I was pleading with 
him, there was impressed upon me the hopelessness of 
accomplishing anything of permanent good, because there 
were no foundations upon which to build. 

As I left him, deeply depressed with my inability to 
help him, I said, "When you have served out your sen- 
tence here, if you think of anything I can do for you, 
call at my home and I will try to help you." But Harry 
never called. 

Harry's Utter Failure 

This is the brief statement of Harry Brown's sad 
failure to realize for himself the career of usefulness 
which was open to him. He possessed natural abilities 
and had placed within reach golden opportunities, which 
if properly cultivated and utilized, would have won for 
him an honorable position among the world's workers. 
But he was unhorsed at the outset of life's race. 

He failed miserably, failed utterly, failed hopelessly, 



IN THE SCHOOL-ROOM 217 

and found liimself an outcast, a criminal, the slave of 
his base desires, the miserable victim of his suicidal 
selfishness, instead of a useful, honorable citizen, filled 
and thrilled with noble aspirations and finding his high- 
est development and enjoyment in serving others. 

"Of all sad words of tongue or pen. 
The saddest are these. It might have been." 

What a terrible loss such a life failure is to the in- 
dividual, to the community, to the world, can only be 
properly estimated by Him who came that we might 
have life and might have it more abundantly, through 
this uplifting service of others. 

Need I state my purpose in presenting to the teachers 
of this great country these brief but sad chapters from 
Harry's life? Harry did not plan to have his hfe's pros- 
pects thus blasted. We must concede to him a normal 
desire to succeed, to realize at least a fair degree of en- 
joyment and success. To assume otherwise is to charge 
him with entertaining such illogical ideas as would lay 
him open to the charge of insanity, or of being a moral 
pervert. Harry Brown was neither insane nor a pervert, 
and yet Harry Browns are to be found in every city of 
this great country. On what or on whom does this terrible 
responsibility rest? Here is a question of tremendous 
import to every one who loves his fellow man. 

Causes of Failure 

When we begin to analyze the probable causes which 
have contributed to this direful result, we at once think 
of the influences of heredity, environment and home 
training. Harry was handicapped without doubt in life's 



2i8 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

race, by the Spanish blood coursing through his arteries, 
but if he had not weakened his will power by the in- 
sidious poison of cigarettes, he might have fought out a 
winning campaign against his hot temper and gained the 
victory of self-control over his naturally passionate nature. 

Will we place the whole responsibility of Harry's sad 
failure to gain the mastery over self at his door? Not 
if you leave the decision to me. While Harry has much 
of responsibility, yet there is also an awful responsi- 
bility to be laid at the door of parental neglect. Right 
character, by divine appointment, must be largely moulded, 
shaped, built up in the home. The schools can do much, 
but the home should always prove the greatest factor in 
character building. Terrible must be the condemnation 
visited upon the parents who fail to meet their grave 
responsibilities in this direction. 

Some blame must also rest upon the city or state au- 
thorities which foster or even permit the awful schools 
of vice found in almost every city. 

Teachers' Responsibilities 

But T also hold, while dividing this terrible responsi- 
bility, that we teachers might lessen the number of Harry 
Browns if we only knew boy nature better. It is not 
enough that we are filled with an earnest desire to help 
them to avoid making such terrible mistakes, that I 
assume we all have, but we must have with it a keen 
appreciation of the boy's point of view, come into closer 
companionship with him, and skillfully and patiently 
arouse the desire for self-mastery, inspire confidence in 
himself, and in his power to grow and grasp his oppor- 
tunities. 



IX THE SCHOOL-ROOM 219 

I am ready to lift my hat admiringly to the primary 
teacher who is able to win her forty or fift}- children 
and transform them into willing sul^jects, ready to re- 
spond to her slightest wish. She has great power and is 
exercising a moulding influence upon these young lives 
that cannot be measured. God bless her in her noble 
work ! 

But I am even more ready to lift my hat with a pro- 
founder bow to the grammar grade teacher who can 
rescue the Harry Browns from their intense selfishness 
and perverted tastes and inspire in them a genuine crav- 
ing for the things which stand for growth, for worthy 
accomplishment, for usefulness, and for saner, nobler 
living. While according high praise to the wonderful 
influence of the masterful primary teacher, I believe it 
is fitting to accord a higher paean of praise to the gram- 
mar grade teacher who wins Harn- Browns from the 
error of their ways. 

I am, however, thoroughly aware of the fact that the 
grammar grade teacher is severely handicapped in re- 
claiming Harry Browns. That winning her way into 
a closer companionship with these unfortunate, mis- 
guided boys, that individual study of their perverted 
tastes and interests is almost impossible when she has 
fifty pupils to train up and inspire. How long will it 
take an intelligent public to learn that such overcrowding 
of school-rooms causes irreparable loss to the individual 
pupil, to the community and to the state? 

Who is to Blame? 

And now, let me press these question? upon you. Who 
is to blame that Harry Browns are to be found in every 



226 STUDIES AND OBSERVATIONS 

city throughout this country of ours? Shall we largely 
place the blame upon the parents? Shall we hold the 
boy himself chiefly responsible? Shall we charge it up 
chiefly to heredity or environment? Shall we locate a 
share of this grave responsibility with the prevailing 
inane method of city government? Shall we admit that 
a small share, at least, of this grave responsibility rests 
upon the teacher? Wherever we may locate the blame, 
the pressing question still is, "How shall we as teachers, 
or as citizens, lessen the number of Harry Browns?" 
One of the purposes which prompted the writing of 
the foregoing chapters of this book, was to emphasize 
the value of individual study of pupils as a means of 
coming into closer and more vital touch and sympathy 
with them and thus lessen the number of Harry Browns. / 



FEB 11 1907 



